GIFT  OF 
J*E.    Rogers 


OUR    GOVERNMENT 


HOW    IT    GREW,    WHAT    IT    DOES,    AND 
HOW   IT    DOES    IT 


BY 


JESSE    MACY,   A.M. 

PROFESSOR  OF  CONSTITUTIONAL  HISTORY  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY 
IN  IOWA  COLLEGE 


ISlittton 


BOSTON,  U.S.A. 
PUBLISHED  BY  GINN  &  COMPANY 

1896 


A/3 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1890,  by 

JESSE   MACY, 
in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED. 


TYPOGRAPHY  BY  J.  8.  CUSHING  &  Co.,  BOSTON,  U.8.A. 
PRBSSWORK  BY  GINN  &  Co.,  BOSTON,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE. 


A  CHILD  who  has  been  well  instructed  in  Geography 
knows  already  something  about  a  school  district  and  other 
local  governments  around  him ;  he  has  some  knowledge  of 
the  state  and  of  the  United  States.  This  book  is  designed 
to  extend  the  knowledge  of  all  these  institutions  and  teach 
something  of  their  relations  to  each  other. 

The  governmental  institutions  of  our  entire  system  are 
so  related  that  no  one  of  them  can  be  thoroughly  under- 
stood without  a  knowledge  of  all.  The  institutions  directly 
affecting  the  citizen  in  his  ordinary  civil  relations  are  chiefly 
those  of  the  state  and  the  local  governments  within  it. 
Many  useful  lessons  in  civil  government  may  be  learned 
from  the  state  alone ;  yet  the  action  of  the  state  is  in  some 
cases  conditioned  upon  the  action  of  the  general  govern- 
ment. On  the  other  hand,  to  limit  instruction  in  civil 
government  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  pre- 
sents more  serious  difficulties.  The  Constitution  assumes 
the  existence  of  the  states  and  provides  for  a  supplemen- 
tary government.  It  cannot  be  rightly  understood  without 
a  knowledge  of  the  states.  To  attempt  to  teach  the  Federal 
Constitution  without  this  knowledge  results  naturally  in 
the  teaching  of  error. 

869059 


IV  PREFACE. 

The  order  of  topics  here  presented  is  such  that  the  insti- 
tutions nearest,  and  naturally  most  familiar,  shall  receive 
special  attention  first.  In  this  part  of  the  work  a  direct 
study  of  the  actual  institutions  of  the  locality  is  intended. 
The  different  states  and  different  parts  of  the  same  state 
furnish  a  variety  of  agencies.  It  is  from  the  direct  obser- 
vation and  study  of  actual  governmental  institutions  that 
a  real  knowledge  is  derived.  Books  are  useful  as  they 
stimulate  and  guide  observation  and  assist  in  interpreta- 
tion. 

When  the  manuscript  for  the  first  edition  was  sent  to 
the  publishers,  it  was  with  the  expectation  that  copies 
would  be  printed  for  trial  in  the  class-room  before  publi- 
cation. I  have  now,  in  accordance  with  my  original  plan, 
rewritten  the  book,  and  made  such  changes  as  experience 
seems  to  demand.  From  the  publication  of  the  book  and 
its  use  in  the  schools  of  the  various  states  I  have  derived 
the  benefit  of  a  much  wider  range  of  criticism  than  could 
have  been  secured  from  a  trial  edition.  In  the  meantime 
several  books  have  appeared  which  have  been  found  help- 
ful in  preparing  the  new  edition.  The  most  important  of 
these  are  Bryce's  The  American  Commonwealth,  and  How- 
ard's Local  Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States. 

J.  MACY. 
GRINNELL,  IOWA, 
August,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 
PART  I. 

ORIGIN    OF   OUR   GOVERNMENTAL   INSTITUTIONS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  I.     OUR  EUROPEAN  ANCESTORS 1 

Governmental  Institutions.  Origin  of  the  Township. 
Town-Meeting.  The  Manor.  Towns  and  Boroughs.  The 
Parish.  The  Hundred.  Kingdoms  and  Shires.  The  County 
Court.  Parliament. 

CHAPTER   II.      ORIGIN    OF   LOCAL    GOVERNMENTS    ....         8 

Local  Governments  Transplanted.  Temporary  Institutions. 
The  New  England  Town.  New  England  Churches.  Officers 
of  the  Town.  The  New  England  County.  Form  of  County 
Government.  Local  Government  in  New  York.  In  Pennsyl- 
vania. In  Virginia,  In  the  South.  General  Remarks. 

CHAPTER  III.      ORIGIN   OF    STATES 19 

Motives  for  founding  Colonies.  First  Permanent  Colony. 
The  Governor  and  his  Council.  The  First  Legislature.  Civil 
Strife.  Virginia  Royalists.  Berkeley  and  Bacon.  Strife  in 
Other  Colonies.  Proprietary  Colonies.  First  Charter  Colony. 
Voluntary  Associations.  Struggle  for  the  Charters.  Colonies 
become  States.  Classification  of  Colonies.  State  Officers 
derived  from  Colonial  Governments. 

CHAPTER   IV.     ORIGIN  OF   STATE   CONSTITUTIONS     ....       30 

The  Bill  of  Rights.    Town  Charters.    The  Grand  Model. 
Colonial  Charters.    Rhode  Island.    State  Constitutions.    Three    . 
Departments  of  Government.    First  Constitutions  Models  for 
Later  Ones.    Making  of  a  New  State. 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER   V.     ORIGIN  or   THE   FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION     .     .       36 

Union  of  New  England  Colonies.  Albany  Convention. 
Colonial  Congresses.  Continental  Congress.  Articles  of  Con- 
federation. Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Relation  of  a 
State  to  the  Federal  Government.  Compromise. 

CHAPTER   VI.     ENGLISH  AND  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENTS  COM- 
PARED      40 

English  Constitution  based  upon  Custom.  The  Veto  Power. 
Choice  of  Ministers.  Submission  of  House  of  Lords.  Cen- 
tralization of  Power.  English  Cabinet  the  Chief  Law-maker. 
Judiciary  in  England. 

CHAPTER    VII.      STATE    AND   FEDERAL   GOVERNMENTS    COM- 
PARED      45 

Case  of  Connecticut.  United  States  and  Connecticut  Com- 
pared. State  and  Federal  Executives.  City  and  Federal  Con- 
stitutions Compared.  Catechism. 


PART  II. 

MATTERS    CHIEFLY   LOCAL. 

CHAPTER    VIII.     EDUCATION 50 

Origin  of  Public  Schools.  Extension  of  Public  Schools. 
Geography  of  School  District.  Area  for  School  Government. 
Forms  of  Governments.  School- District  Officers.  Support 
of  Schools.  Teachers'  Certificates.  City  Superintendent. 
County  Superintendent.  State  Superintendent.  Judicial  Busi- 
ness of  the  Superintendent.  Township,  County,  and  Normal 
Schools.  State  Universities  and  Agricultural  Colleges.  Edu- 
cational Work  of  Federal  Government.  Public  Schools  and 
the  Constitution. 

CHAPTER   IX.     HIGHWAYS 60 

Highways  and  the  Federal  Government.  Areas  for  Road 
Management.  Road  Building.  Highway  Officers.  Toll  Roads. 
Road  Taxes.  Division  of  Labor  between  Township  and 
County.  Canals  and  Railroads. 


CONTENTS.  vii 

PAGE 

CHAPTER   X.     CARE  OF  THE  POOR  AND  OTHER  UNFORTUNATE 

CLASSES 64 

Efforts  to  limit  Pauperism.  Support  by  Townships.  Poor- 
Houses.  Support  by  Counties.  Difficulties.  The  Insane. 
Education  of  Unfortunates.  Federal  Relief . 

CHAPTER    XI.      TAXATION 68 

Need  of  Revenue.  The  State  System.  Valuation  of  Prop- 
erty. Boards  of  Equalization.  Levying  of  Taxes.  Tax- 
Collectors.  Treasurer  and  Auditor.  Licenses,  Fines,  etc. 
Exemptions.  Reasons  for  not  taxing  Notes  and  Mortgages. 
Bonds  should  not  be  Taxed.  Federal  Taxation.  Revenue 
from  Land  Sales.  Postage.  Internal  Revenue.  Collection 
Districts.  Customs.  Protective  and  Revenue  Tariffs.  The 
United  States  and  Direct  Taxes.  Enforced  Action. 

CHAPTER  XH.     TOWNS  AND  CITIES 78 

Meaning  of  Terms.  Municipal  Constitutions.  City  Officers. 
Work  of  City  Governments.  Independent  Powers  of  Cities. 

CHAPTER   XIII.     THE    CHOOSING   OF   PUBLIC  SERVANTS     .     .       81 

Selecting  Teachers.  Skilled  Officials  Selected  by  Boards  or 
Individuals.  Elections.  Voting  Precincts.  Canvassing  Votes. 
Election  of  President  and  Vice-President.  Disputed  Election. 
The  Ballot.  The  Australian  System.  Constitutional  Provis- 
ions. United  States  Constitution. 


PART  III. 

THE   ADMINISTRATION   OF   JUSTICE. 

CHAPTER    XIV.      ANCIENT   USAGES 89 

What  a  Government  must  do.  Union  of  Departments. 
Judicial  Business  in  Ancient  Townships.  Hundreds  and  Coun- 
ties. Common  Law.  The  King's  Justices.  Justices  of  the 
Peace.  Quarter  Sessions. 

CHAPTER   XV.     THE   ORIGIN  OF  JURIES 94 

The  Jury  and  the  Town-Meeting.  The  Jury  and  the  Nor- 
mans. Trial  by  Ordeal.  Trial  by  Battle.  Grand  and  Petit 
Juries.  Changes  in  the  Jury.  Jurymen  as  Representatives. 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

• 

PAGE 

CHAPTER   XVI.      MINISTERIAL    OFFICERS 99 

Reeves.  Constable.  Sheriff  and  Coioner.  Marshal.  Ju- 
dicial and  Ministerial  Functions. 

CHAPTER  XVII.     COLONIAL  COURTS 102 

The  English  System.  In  Massachusetts.  In  Other  Colonies. 
Separation  of  the  Judiciary.  Choosing  of  Judges. 

CHAPTER    XVIII.      STATE  COURTS 104 

Three  Grades  of  Courts.  Courts  of  Equity.  Tribunals  of 
Arbitration.  Courts  of  Record.  Clerk  of  Courts.  Variations 
among  States.  Decisions  of  Supreme  Court.  Supreme  Court 
Reporter.  Prosecuting  Attorney.  Attorney  General. 

CHAPTER   XIX.     FEDERAL    COURTS 109 

Commissioners  of  the  Circuit  Courts.  State  Officers  as 
Commissioners.  The  Habeas  Corpus.  District  Courts.  Cir- 
cuit Courts.  Supreme  Court. 

CHAPTER  XX.     CASES  AT   LAW     .     .     .     . 113 

Three  Sorts  of  Cases.  Criminal  Processes.  The  Complaint. 
The  Wan-ant.  Preliminary  Examination.  Bail.  The  Indict- 
ment. The  Arraignment.  The  Trial.  Empanelling  a  Jury. 
The  Testimony.  The  Arguments.  Instructions  from  the 
Court.  The  Verdict.  The  Sentence.  Appeals.  Civil  Cases. 

CHAPTER  XXL     COURTS  AND  OTHER  GOVERNMENT  OFFICERS.     119 

Control  of  Public  Officers.  Mandamus.  Injunction.  Gov- 
ernment Sued.  Local  Governments  within  the  State  completely 
Subject  to  Orders  of  Courts.  The  Memphis  Case.  Suing  a 
State.  States  and  Federal  Courts.  Case  of  Missouri  and 
Iowa.  Repudiating  States.  Virginia  Bond  Case.  Suing  the 
United  States. 

CHAPTER   XXII.     FEDERAL  JUDICIAL  'BUSINESS 126 

Cases  hi  State  Courts.  Cases  exclusively  Federal.  Op- 
tional Cases.  Removals  from  State  Courts.  New  Trial. 
Appeals  to  a  Federal  Court. 


CONTENTS.  IX 

PART  IV. 

MATTEES   CHIEFLY   FEDERAL. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER    XXIII.     THE  PRESIDENT .     .     130 

His  Election.  The  Constitution  changed  by  Custom. 
Succession  to  the  Presidency.  Cabinet  and  President.  Poli- 
tical and  Non- Political  Officers.  The  Appointing  Power.  The 
Spoils  System.  Objections  to  the  Spoils  System.  Obstacles 
to  Reform.  Present  Laws. 

CHAPTER    XXIV.     FOREIGN   SERVICE 139 

Treaties.  Other  Purchases.  Boundary  Disputes.  Other 
Foreign  Service.  Constitutional  Provisions.  Secretary  of 
State.  Division  of  the  Service.  Diplomatic  Service.  Con- 
sular Service.  Consuls  and  Commerce.  The  Alabama  Case. 

CHAPTER  XXV.  THE  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT    .....     144 

Origin  of  the  Department.     Internal  Revenue.     Customs. 

Commerce    and  Navigation.      Public    Improvements.      Sub- 
Treasuries. 

CHAPTER   XXVI.     MONEY  AND  COINAGE 147 

Origin  of  Money.  Coinage.  Money  of  the  Colonists. 
Money  of  the  Revolution.  Difficulties  with  Standards.  Diffi- 
culty Overcome.  Gold  Corns.  Silver  Coins.  Minor  Coins. 
Gold  and  Silver  Certificates. 

CHAPTER   XXVII.     BANKS 154 

Bank  of  North  America.  Control  of  Banks  Assumed  by 
Federal  Government.  State  Banks.  New  York  Banking  Sys- 
tem. National  Banks.  Treasury  Notes.  United  States  Bonds. 
Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII.    THE  POST-OFFICE  DEPARTMENT    ....     158 

Origin  of  Postal  Service.  Massachusetts,  Virginia,  and 
New  York.  English  Supervision.  Franklin  as  Postmaster- 
General.  Congress  takes  Control.  Division  of  the  Business. 
Salaries.  Classification  of  Mail  Matter.  Competition  with 
Private  Business. 


X  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER   XXIX.     THE  WAR  AND  THE   NAVY  DEPARTMENTS     163 

Aid  to  the  States.  State  Aid  to  Federal  Government.  Sepa- 
rate Navy  Department.  The  Signal  Service.  Meteorological 
Bureau.  Other  Aids  to  the  Arts  of  Peace. 

CHAPTER    XXX.     THE   INTERIOR  DEPARTMENT     .....     168 

Different  Matters  belonging  to  the  Department.  Land  Sur- 
veys. Townships.  Principal  Meridians  and  Base  Lines.  Cor- 
rection Lines.  Sections. 

CHAPTER    XXXI.     OTHER   FEDERAL   MATTERS 173 

Department  of  Justice.  Agricultural  Department.  The 
Smithsonian  Institution.  Business  of  the  Institution.  National 
Museum.  Interstate  Commerce  Commission. 

CHAPTER    XXXII.     LEGISLATION 176 

Legislature  and  Executive  Compared  in  Number.  Legisla- 
tive Business.  Financiering.  Local  Option. 

CHAPTER  XXXIII.    THE  CONSTITUTION  AND  THE  LEGISLATURE     180 

Basis  of  Representation.  Apportioning  Representatives 
among  the  States.  Members  from  Territories.  Representative 
Districts.  Sessions  of  Congress.  Officers  of  the  Two  Houses. 
President  pro  tempore.  Speaker  of  the  House. 

CHAPTER   XXXIV.     METHODS  OF  CONDUCTING  BUSINESS     .     .     185 

Legislation  by  Committees.  The  Speaker  and  the  Com- 
mittees. What  the  Committees  do.  Committees  before  the 
House.  Appropriation  and  Revenue  Bills.  Senate  Commit- 
tees. Co-operation  of  the  Two  Houses.  Senatorial  Executive 
Business.  Impeachments.  "Lobby  Members."  Political 
Parties  in  England.  Parties  in  Congress. 


PART  V. 

CONSTITUTIONS. 

CHAPTER   XXXV.     GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  or  THE  CONSTITU- 
TION  193 

Constitution  Denned.     Constitutional  Checks.     Source  of 
Authority. 


CONTENTS.  XI 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XXXVI.    SOME   EXPLANATIONS  OF  WRITTEN  CON- 
STITUTIONS    .     .' 196 

Frame  of  Government  for  Counties  and  Townships.  Organi- 
zation of  Courts.  "The  Legislature  shall  have  Power." 
Commands  upon  the  Legislature.  Prohibitions  upon  the 
Legislature.  The  United  States  Constitution  as  affecting 
States.  Restrictions  upon  Executive  and  Judiciary. 

CHAPTER   XXXVII.      CONSTITUTIONS    AND    ORDINARY    LAW     201 

The  Federal  Constitution.  In  the  States.  Illinois.  Rail- 
roads and  State  Constitutions.  Lotteries.  Duelling.  Bribery 
and  Betting  at  Elections.  Slavery  and  State  Constitutions. 
Intoxicating  Liquors.  Prohibitory  Amendments.  Other  Statu- 
tory Provisions.  Special  Legislation. 

CHAPTER    XXXVIII.      EXPLANATION   OF    SPECIAL   PASSAGES    211 

Slavery.  Three  Classes  of  Senators.  Electors.  Yeas  and 
Nays.  Vacancies.  Compensation  of  Officers.  Privileges  of 
Congressmen.  Civil  Officers  of  the  United  States.  Are  Con- 
gressmen Liable  to  Impeachment  ?  Letters  of  Marque  and 
Reprisal.  Bills  of  Attainder  and  Ex  post  facto  Laws.  Cor- 
ruption of  Blood.  The  United  States  a  Nation. 

CHAPTER   XXXIX.     THE    SILENCES   OF   THE    FEDERAL  CON- 
STITUTION      220 

CHAPTER   XL.     FEDERAL   AND   STATE  POWERS 222 

Powers  expressly  Conferred.  To  regulate  Commerce.  The 
Liquor  Traffic.  Indian  Trade.  Naturalization  of  Aliens. 
Bankrupt  Laws.  Weights  and  Measures.  Counterfeiting. 
Post-Offices  and  Post-Roads.  Patents  and  Copyrights.  Police 
Power.  Military  Powers.  Other  Grants  of  Power.  Implied 
Powers.  Assumption  of  State  Debts.  Banks.  Assumed 
Powers.  Elastic  Clauses. 

CHAPTER   XLI.     CENTRALIZATION  AND  DECENTRALIZATION     .     233 
The  Federal  Principle. 

CHAPTER   XLII.     POLITICAL  PARTIES 235 

Parties  in  a  Monarchy.  Parties  in  Local  Government. 
Parties  in  the  State  and  the  Nation. 


2       ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

England,  in  A.D.-  449,  ''they  lived  on  the  continent  of 
Europe;  in  Denmark  and  the  neighboring  country  to 
the  rsorithV  •  'Here  the  families  of  kinsfolk  were  accus- 
tomed, fo  build  £heir  houses  near  together,  on  the  banks 
of  a  river  or  near  a  spring.  For  purposes  of  defence, 
they  would  surround  their  houses  with  a  rude  fence  or  a 
hedge,  which  they  called  a  tun  (toon),  whence  we  derive 
the  name  town ;  and  the  name  tun-scipe,  or  township, 
was  given  to  the  village  and  the  surrounding  country. 

Town-Meeting.  —  The  villagers  in  the  ancient  town- 
ships of  England  were  wont  to  meet  in  the  open  air  and 
transact  business  of  common  interest.  They  adopted 
by-laws  for  the  government  of  the  township,  new  mem- 
bers were  admitted,  disputes  between  townsmen  were 
settled,  minor  offences  were  punished,  and  lots  of  land 
were  distributed  to  the  various  families  for  the  year's 
tillage.  At  the  town-meeting,  also,  town  officers  were 
chosen,  such  as  the  head-man,  or  reeve,  and  the  tithing- 
man.  "  Four  best  men  "  also  were  chosen  in  later  times 
to  represent  the  township  in  the  courts  of  the  hundred 
and  the  county.  Not  only  is  the  township  the  oldest  of 
our  governmental  institutions,  but,  from  the  part  which 
it  has  played  both  in  England  and  in  America,  it  may 
fairly  be  said  to  be  the  most  important. 

The  Manor.  —  Many  of  these  ancient  townships  were 
not  free.  A  chief  man,  either  because  he  was  descended 
from  the  founder  of  the  village,  or  because  in  times  of 
violence  he  had  gained  control  of  the  land,  was  looked 
upon  as  the  lord  of  the  township.  There  were  centuries 
of  violence  after  the  coming  of  the  English  into  Eng- 
land. They  contended  long  and  fiercely  with  the  Brit- 
ons for  possession  of  the  island.  Then  different  tribes 


OUR  EUROPEAN  ANCESTORS.  3 

of  English  fought  with  one  another  for  supremacy.  Later 
the  Danes  invaded  England,  and  a  Danish  king  con- 
quered the  country  in  1016.  Finally,  in  1066,  England 
was  conquered  by  William  of  Normandy.  Long  before 
the  end  of  this  period  of  violence  all  the  lands  had  be- 
come subject  to  lords ;  there  were  no  longer  free  town- 
ships. The  name  given  to  a  township  when  it  was 
thought  of  as  a  lord's  estate  was  Manor.  Yet  the  manor 
did  not  entirely  destroy  the  township ;  there  were  still 
meetings,  or  courts,  which  the  villagers  attended,  and 
through  which  they  had  some  share  in  the  government. 

Towns  and  Boroughs.  —  The  word  borough,  like  the 
word  town,  was  derived  from  that  which  served  as  a 
protection  for  the  dwellings.  It  signifies  a  place  of 
strong  defence.  The  early  English  townships,  which 
were  more  strongly  defended  or  became  more  populous 
than  the  ordinary  township,  were  often  called  Boroughs. 
These  at  first  differed  from  the  ordinary  township  simply 
in  strength.  They  came  to  be  more  highly  organized; 
and  when  the  ordinary  townships  were  subjected  to  the 
power  of  a  lord,  the  stronger  towns  and  boroughs  re- 
tained a  much  larger  share  of  freedom.  As  the  feudal 
lords  fortified  their  dwellings  in  the  country,  and  erected 
castles  to  increase  their  power,  towns  and  cities  in- 
creased their  defences  and  built  walls  to  preserve  their 
liberties. 

The  Parish.  —  When  the  Saxons  came  into  England 
they  were  heathen.  In  course  of  time,  missionaries  from 
Rome  established  the  Christian  religion.  The  church 
was  organized  on  the  Roman  model  of  church  govern- 
ment, and  was  supported  by  taxation.  It  then  attended 
to  many  things  now  belonging  to  the  civil  government. 


4      OEIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

The  church  divided  the  country  into  parishes,  having 
generally  the  same  geographical  boundaries  as  the  town- 
ship, though  sometimes  two  townships  made  one  parish. 
Gradually  the  term  parish  displaced,  in  most  cases,  the 
older  term  township.  There  are  thus  three  names  for 
the  same  area.  Viewed  as  the  territory  of  the  original 
local  government  it  is  the  Township ;  as  the  area  of  the 
lord's  estate  it  is  the  Manor ;  as  the  area  for  the  support 
of  a  church  it  is  the  Parish.  Wherever  the  more  highly 
organized  borough,  town,  or  city  was  established,  it  took 
the  place  of  the  township. 

The  Hundred.  —  In  very  early  times,  probably  before 
the  English  came  into  England,  groups  of  neighboring 
townships  were  united  into  a  larger  district  called  a 
Hundred.  It  is  not  known  certainly  how  the  name 
hundred  came  to  be  used.  It  is  supposed  that  the 
original  hundreds  were  composed  of  the  neighboring 
townships  which  furnished  a  hundred  warriors  for  the 
army.  As  we  know  the  word,  it  means  simply  a  gov- 
ernmental district  larger  than  a  township  and  smaller 
than  a  county.  There  was  a  Hundred  Court,  made  up 
of  the  chief  lords  in  the  hundred,  and  the  "four  best 
men  "  and  the  reeve  from  each  township  and  borough. 
The  business  of  the  court  was  chiefly  judicial.  Cases 
too  difficult  to  be  settled  in  town-meeting  were  carried 
to  the  hundred  court.  In  course  of  time  the  hundred 
court  absorbed  most  of  the  judicial  business  of  the  town- 
meeting.  In  later  times,  when  the  office  of  Justice  of 
the  Peace  was  fully  developed,  and  the  county  and 
higher  courts  were  established  in  England,  the  court  of 
the  hundred  fell  into  disuse,  and  now  the  name  is  used 
to  designate  simply  a  district. 


OUR  EUROPEAN  ANCESTORS.  5 

Kingdoms  and  Shires.  —  When  the  English  began 
to  conquer  the  Britons  they  were  not  subject  to  the  rule 
of  kings.  In  time  of  war  a  leader  was  chosen  from 
among  the  chiefs,  and  when  the  war  was  over  he  ceased 
to  be  ruler.  But  when  in  England  a  state  of  war  came 
to  be  the  common  condition,  the  leader  of  the  army 
became  a  permanent  officer,  and  received  the  name  of 
King.  The  country  over  which  he  ruled  was  a  King- 
dom. Various  tribes  of  the  English  conquered  different 
parts  of  England  and  founded  little  kingdoms.  The 
petty  kings  fought  against  each  other  for  supremacy, 
and  finally  all  were  subjected  to  one  king.  The  little 
•kingdoms  then  became  parts  of  a  united  kingdom,  and 
were  called  Shires,  from  a  word  meaning  a  share,  or 
part.  New  shires  were  formed  by  subdivision,  and  from 
conquests  of  new  territory,  until  at  length  England  and 
Wales  were  made  up  of  fifty  shires,  or  counties. 

The  County  Court.  —  When  the  little  kingdom  be- 
came a  shire,  the  government,  which  had  been  a  king's 
government,  became  a  shire  government.  The  kings  in 
England  did  not  rule  alone.  Closely  associated  with 
them  was  a  body  of  men  called  "The  Wise."  With 
these  were  often  assembled  in  the  petty  kingdoms  repre- 
sentative men  from  the  hundreds  and  the  townships. 
In  the  shire,  instead  of  the  king's  court,  there  ap- 
peared a  Shire  Court,  which  was  composed  of  the  chief 
men  from  the  hundreds,  and  four  men  and  the  reeve 
from  each  township  in  the  shire.  As  the  townsmen 
chose  their  own  reeve  in  town-meeting,  and  the 
hundred  court  chose  the  hundred  reeve,  so  in  early 
times  the  shire  court  sometimes  chose  the  shire  reeve, 
or  sheriff.  But  ordinarily  the  sheriff  was  selected  by 


6       ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

the  king.  He  was  the  chief  officer  of  the  shire,  and 
usually  presided  over  the  county  court.  After  the 
coming  of  the  Normans,  in  1066,  the  shire  court  under- 
went some  changes,  and  its  name  was  changed  to 
County  Court. 

Business  of  the  County  Court.  —  It  will  be  observed 
that  a  full  county  court  was  composed  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  persons.  To  it  came  the  chief  men  from  each 
hundred,  and  five  men  from  each  borough,  and  five 
from  each  little  township.  The  court  met  twice  each 
year,  and  in  it  were  transacted  various  kinds  of  business. 
The  cases  at  law  which  were  too  difficult  to  be  settled 
by  the  hundred  court,  were  carried  to  the  county  court. 
Besides  judicial  business,  the  court  was  made  an  agency 
of  the  king  for  the  collection  of  taxes,  the  publication 
and  the  execution  of  laws. 

Origin  of  Parliament.  —  After  the  coming  of  the 
Normans,  that  body  of  "  wise  men "  who  were  always 
associated  with  the  king  in  the  government  of  England 
came  to  be  called  the  King's  Council.  It  was  composed 
of  all  the  great  lords  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  bishops, 
who  represented  the  church.  In  the  earlier  times,  when 
the  king  and  his  council  wished  to  secure  funds  to  carry 
on  the  government,  a  message  was  sent  to  the  sheriff  of 
each  county,  who  was  directed  to  arrange  with  the 
members  of  the  county  court  for  the  collection  of  the 
tax.  Often  the  court,  before  agreeing  to  the  king's 
tax,  would  insist  upon  the  grant  of  some  favor  or  privi- 
lege from  the  king.  Later,  instead  of  sending  to  the 
county  court  for  the  arrangement  of  the  taxes,  the  king 
directed  the  sheriff  of  each  county  to  have  the  court 
select  two  men  to  represent  the  shire  in  the  king's 


OUR  EUROPEAN  ANCESTORS.  7 

council,  and  it  was  usually  added  that  two  representa- 
tives be  sent  from  certain  boroughs  and  cities.  The 
county  members  were  lords  of  a  lower  rank  than  the 
other  lords  of  the  king's  council ;  the  borough  members 
represented  the  tradespeople  of  the  towns.  At  first 
they  were  all  chosen  in  the  county  court,  and  they  all 
sat  with  the  older  members  of  the  king's  council.  But 
during  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  (1327-1377),  the  lesser 
lords  from  the  counties  and  the  members  from  towns 
and  cities  formed  a  habit  of  meeting  in  a  separate  place, 
and  the  body  was  called  the  House  of  Commons.  The 
older  part  of  the  council  was  then  named  the  House  of 
Lords,  the  bishops  being  the  lords  spiritual,  and  the 
others  the  lords  temporal. 

The  Business  of  Parliament.  —  The  kings  of  Eng- 
land could  never  act  alone.  It  was  by  joint  action  of 
king  and  council  that  laws  were  made  and  policies 
were  agreed  upon.  The  chief  object  of  the  king  in 
adding  to  his  council  members  from  counties  and  towns 
was  to  secure  taxes.  As  the  members  of  the  county 
court  were  accustomed  to  ask  favors  of  the  king  before 
agreeing  to  a  measure  of  taxation,  so  did  the  repre- 
sentatives chosen  in  county  court  when  they  voted 
taxes  for  the  king  in  Parliament.  A  petition  pre- 
sented by  the  elected  members,  when  granted  by  the 
king  and  the  lords,  and  signed  by  the  king,  became  a 
law.  The  House  of  Commons  from  the  first  has  been 
the  source  of  all  bills  for  raising  revenue.  It  gradually 
gained  a  share  in  the  making  of  laws  and  in  directing 
the  affairs  of  the  government. 

Supremacy  of  Parliament.  —  During  the  century 
in  which  colonies  were  founded  in  America,  there  was 


8      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

a  fierce  contest  between  the  king  and  the  Parliament. 
The  Stuart  kings  claimed  the  right  by  royal  decree  to 
set  aside  laws  passed  by  Parliament.  They  also  claimed 
the  right  to  collect  taxes  without  its  sanction.  In  1649 
Charles  I.  was  condemned  to  death  by  a  special  court 
created  by  act  of  Parliament.  In  1688  James  II.  was 
driven  out  of  England.  The  following  year  William 
III.  was  made  king  of  England,  and  James  and  his  heirs 
were  excluded  from  the  throne  by  act  of  Parliament. 
By  these  and  other  acts  the  Parliament  has  gained  su- 
premacy over  the  crown. 


CHAPTER   II. 

ORIGIN   OF  LOCAL   GOVERNMENTS. 

Local  Governments  Transplanted.  —  When  the 
English  founded  colonies  in  America  there  existed  in 
England:  1.  The  township  with  its  substitutes  and 
modified  forms,  the  manor,  the  parish,  and  the  borough, 
town,  or  city.  2.  The  hundred,  which  had  lost  much 
of  its  former  importance.  3.  The  county  or  shire, 
whose  government  had  been  taken  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  ancient  representatives  from  townships  and  hun- 
dreds, and  had  been  committed  to  justices  of  the  peace, 
appointed  by  the  king.  The  former  representative 
county  court  had  been  replaced  by  a  court  composed 
of  justices  and  juries  which  met  four  times  a  year,  and 
was  called  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions.  All  these 
institutions  and  their  names  were  transplanted  to  the 
New  World. 


ORIGIN   OF  LOCAL    GOVERNMENTS.  9 

Temporary  Institutions.  —  Some  of   the  local   gov- 
ernments transplanted  to  America  have  been  given  up. 

1.  The  Hundred.     When   Ferdinand    Gorges   made 
provision   for   the   government   of    the    colony   to    be 
planted  in  Maine,  he  speaks  of   dividing  the    country 
into  eight  counties,  while  each  county  was  to  be  divided 
into  sixteen  hundreds.      There  is  also  allusion  to  the 
subdivision  of   hundreds  into  parishes.     But  the   hun- 
dreds never  appeared.     In  the  charter  given  to  William 
Penn,  in  1681,  u  Free  and  absolute  power  "  is  granted, 
"To  Divide  the  said  Countrey  and  Islands  into  Townes, 
hundreds   and  Counties,  and  to  erect  and  incorporate 
Townes   into   Borroughs,  and   Borroughs   into    cities." 
Here  again  there  is  no  evidence    that   hundreds  were 
organized.     In  Delaware,  which  for  a  time  was  a  part 
of  Pennsylvania,  the  name  hundred  is  still  used  in  the 
place  of  township,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  it  was 
ever  applied  there  to  any  other  institution.     In  Mary- 
land  there  were   for   a   time   hundreds  which   bore    a 
strong  resemblance  to  the  old  English  hundred.     Three 
of   the  districts  represented  in  the  first  legislature    of 
Virginia  were  called  hundreds.     The  name  also  appears 
in  the  Carolinas ;  but  the  institution  everywhere  disap- 
peared.    In  Delaware  the  name  alone  survives,  with  a 
different  meaning. 

2.  The  Manor  is  mentioned  in  the   early  history  of 
many  of  the  colonies.     For  a  time  real  manors,  organ- 
ized on  the  English  model,  flourished  in  Maryland  and 
New  York,  but  these  have  all  disappeared. 

3.  Parish  was  the  most  common  name  for  the  town- 
ship area,  when  the  English  came   to   America.     The 
church  was  the  most  striking  institution  in  the  town- 


10      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

ship.  It  required  a  large  tax  for  its  support,  and  con- 
stant care  to  protect  its  property.  Wherever  the 
Church  of  England  was  established  in  America,  parish, 
or  the  church  name  for  township,  was  the  name  given 
to  the  local  government.  In  most  cases,  when  the 
church  became  independent  of  the  government,  the 
word  parish  as  a  governmental  name  disappeared.  In 
South  Carolina,  however,  the  name  was  used  till  the 
Civil  War.  We  thus  see  that  the  hundred  has  entirely 
disappeared;  with  the  departure  of  the  lord  from  the 
township,  the  manor  ceased  to  exist ;  when  the  church 
became  independent  the  parish  vanished.  The  town- 
ship and  county  remain  as  local  governments  of  per- 
manent value  and  general  jurisdiction,  and  we  have 
the  incorporated  town  and  the  city  as  special  govern- 
ments for  dense  populations.  Upon  these  have  been 
founded  the  states  and  the  nation. 

The  New  England  Town.  —  In  no  other  place  has 
the  township  reached  so  perfect  a  development  or  filled 
go  important  a  place  in  the  scheme  of  government  as  in 
New  England.  By  transportation  to  New  England, 
new  life  seems  to  have  been  infused  into  the  remnants 
of  the  ancient  town-meeting  which  had  been  preserved 
in  the  towns,  parishes,  and  manors  of  England.  The 
New  Englanders  were  at  first  left  almost  entirely  to 
themselves.  The  passengers  of  the  "Mayflower,"  be- 
fore landing,  drew  up  and  signed  a  brief  statement, 
which  was  to  be  their  guide  in  founding  a  new  state. 
In  their  chosen  home,  they  acted  much  as  their  ances- 
tors are  believed  to  have  acted  two  thousand  years 
ago.  They  were  surrounded  by  hostile  Indians.  They 
built  their  houses  near  together,  and  provided  a  com- 


ORIGIN   OF  LOCAL   GOVERNMENTS.  11 

mon  defence.  Much  of  the  land  was  held  as  common 
property.  The.  holding  of  common  pasture  lands  and 
common 'woodlands  by  New  England  towns  has  sur- 
vived till  recent  times ;  and  in  many  of  them  the  hog- 
reeve  is  still  an  annually  chosen  officer.  The  towns  at 
first  possessed  all  the  powers  of  government.  They 
were  neglected  by  the  home  authorities,  and  not  re- 
strained by  any  general  government  in  the  colony. 
The  town  of  Plymouth  executed  one  of  its  citizens 
for  the  crime  of  murder.  The  early  towns  were  not 
set  up  by  a  central  authority;  they  organized  them- 
selves. They  were  also  self-pr  ^agating.  Groups  of 
families  from  the  older  towns  would  unite  with  immi- 
grants from  England,  and  build  together  a  new  town 
upon  the  unoccupied  waste.  When  the  central  colo- 
nial governments  began  to  provide  for  the  founding 
of  new  towns,  they  followed  the  model  of  those  already 
founded.  The  town  was  thus  extended  to  every  part 
of  New  England. 

New  England  Churches.  —  The  early  settlers  of 
New  England  were  Congregationalists.  They  believed 
that,  according  to  the  New  Testament,  each  body  of 
believers  so  situated  as  to  attend  one  place  of  worship 
should  make  one  independent  self-governing  church. 
This  fact  had  much  to  do  with  the  life  of  the  New 
England  town.  To  build  a  church  and  provide  for  the 
support  of  a  minister  was  one  of  the  first  acts  of  the 
new  town.  The  size  of  the  township  was  determined 
by  the  distance  for  convenient  attendance  upon  church 
services.  In  many  ways  the  life  ,of  the  town  centred 
in  the  church  and  the  school,  which  was  closely  con- 
nected with  it.  At  first  a  church-meeting  was  made  up 


12      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

of  the  same  individuals  as  a  town-meeting.  In  some  of 
the  colonies,  only  church  members  had  a  right  to  vote. 
Some  of  the  New  England  towns  continued  until  quite 
recent  times  to  support  the  church  by  taxation. 

The  Town-Meeting-.  —  In  its  form  of  government 
the  New  England  town  was  a  pure  Democracy. 
All  the  townsmen  met  together  in  town-meeting  to 
make  laws  for  the  township  and  provide  ways  and 
means  for  their  execution.  From  the  landing  of  the 
Pilgrims,  in  1620,  to  the  present  day,  the  town-meeting 
has  suffered  little  change.  Church  membership  is  no 
longer  required  to  entitle  one  to  vote  and  take  part  in 
the  meeting;  and  taxes  are  not  voted  for  the  support 
of  the  church.  But  provision  is  there  made  for  town 
schools,  for  the  poor,  for  highways,  for  the  health  of 
the  town,  for  the  assessment  and  collection  of  taxes,  and 
for  a  multitude  of  other  local  matters.  The  meeting  is 
organized  by  choosing  a  presiding  officer,  called  a  Mod- 
erator. At  the  annual  meeting  the  regular  town  officers 
are  chosen.  These  have  varied  somewhat  at  different 
times  and  places,  but  the  following  are  the  principal 
town  officers  in  the  state  of  Massachusetts : 

1.  The  Clerk,  whose  duty  it  is  to  attend  the  town- 
meeting   and   keep   an  accurate  record  of  all  the  pro- 
ceedings.    He  has  the  care  of  all  the  town  records,  and 
performs  various  other  duties  prescribed  by  the  vote  of 
the  town-meeting  or  by  the  laws  of  the  state. 

2.  Selectmen,  from  three  to  nine  in  number,  who  are 
the  chief  executive  officers  of  the  town.     They  carry 
into  effect   all  measures  adopted  at  town-meeting  not 
otherwise   provided   for.      They   also    call    the    town- 


ORIGIN   OF  LOCAL    GOVERNMENTS.  13 

meeting  to  hold  elections  for  state   officers,  and   per- 
form other  duties  prescribed  by  state  law. 

3.  Assessors  to  make  a  list  of  the  tax-payers  and  tax- 
able property. 

4.  A    Collector  who  receives  the  assessors'  list  and 
gathers  the  taxes. 

5.  A  Treasurer  who  receives  the  money  from  the  col- 
lector and  pays  it  out  as  ordered  by  the  selectmen. 

6.  A  School  Committee  having  charge  of  the  town 
schools. 

7.  Overseers  of  the  Poor  to  have  charge  of  the  town 
almshouse,  and  furnish  aid  to  the  poor. 

8.  Highway  Surveyors  to  repair  roads  and  bridges. 

9.  A  Constable  who  is  the  chief  administrative  officer 
of  the  township. 

Other  officers  chosen  are  field-drivers,  fence-viewers, 
etc. 

The  New  England  County.  —  The  general  Colonial 
Government  in  Massachusetts  consisted  of  a  Governor, 
a  Deputy  Governor,  Councillors  or  Assistants,  and 
Representatives  from  the  towns.  This  body  of  officers 
received  the  name  of  General  Court.  The  Court  was 
the  general  law-making  body  for  the  colony,  and  it  at 
first  attended  to  all  the  judicial  and  executive  business 
not  provided  for  in  the  towns.  It  answered  all  the 
practical  need  of  a  county  government.  The  judicial 
business  was  attended  to  by  the  Governor  and  the 
Assistants,  or  Councillors.  In  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
Colony,  as  early  as  1636,  inferior  courts  were  provided 
in  four  places,  and  in  1643  the  colony  was  divided  into 
four  shires,  or  counties.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
New  England  County. 


14      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

Form  of  County  Government.  —  In  England  the 
County  Government  was  in  the  hands  of  a  Court  of 
Quarter  Sessions,  which  was  composed  of  the  Justices 
of  the  Peace  of  the  county,  and  the  Grand  Jury.  It 
held  four  meetings  each  year,  and,  besides  being  a  court 
for  the  trial  of  cases  at  law,  it  exercised  supervisory 
control  over  township  or  parish  officers,  supplemented 
the  parish  government  in  the  administration  of  the  poor 
laws,  the  laws  concerning  highways,  taxation,  and  vari- 
ous other  matters.  The  form  of  the  county  govern- 
ments set  up  in  America  followed  pretty  closely  the 
English  model,  but  in  New  England  the  business  of 
county  government  has  been  pretty  closely  confined  to 
the  holding  of  courts  of  law,  the  keeping  of  court 
records,  and  the  care  of  prisoners.  In  New  England 
the  town  still  retains  a  large  part  of  the  business  which 
in  other  parts  of  the  United  States  is  attended  to  by 
counties.  At  present  the  New  England  county  sup- 
plements the  town  in  the  matter  of  bridges  and  high- 
ways, and  in  some  places  in  the  matter  of  poor-law 
administration,  the  business  being  attended  to,  not  by 
the  court,  but  by  county  commissioners  elected  by  the 
people.  Among  other  county  officers  are  a  Sheriff,  a 
Treasurer,  a  Register  of  Deeds,  and  a  Clerk  of  Courts. 

Local  Government  in  New  York. — As  in  New  Eng- 
land, the  first  local  governments  in  New  York  were 
chiefly  townships;  but  these  came  not  from  England 
but  from  Holland.  When  the  English  took  possession 
of  New  Netherlands,  in  1664,  arrangements  were  made 
for  the  organization  of  counties.  The  name  Ridings 
was  given  to  the  first  three  counties,  after  the  example 
of  the  three  Ridings  of  Yorkshire,  England.  The  form 


^ 


ORIGIN   OF  LOCAL   GOVERNMENTS.  15 

was  an  exact  reproduction  of  the  English  model,  a 
Court  of  Quarter  Sessions,  composed  of  Justices  of  the 
Peace  and  the  Grand  Jury.  In  New  York  the  town- 
ship was  not  so  strong  as  in  New  England.  The  county 
court  absorbed  a  larger  share  of  local  business,  and  in 
1703  a  board  was  created  to  attend  to  its  non-judicial 
business.  The  new  board  was  called  the  Board  of 
Supervisors,  and  was  composed  of  one  supervisor  from 
each  township.  By  this  board  a  close  relation  is  estab- 
lished between  the  township  and  the  county.  The 
supervisor  is  at  the  same  time  an  officer  of  the  town- 
ship and  of  the  county. 

The  form  of  township-county  government,  which 
originated  in  New  York,  has  been  reproduced  with 
some  variations  in  a  number  of  the  states  farther  west, 
in  Michigan,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and  Nebraska.  Under 
this  form  of  government  there  is  retained  a  good  deal 
of  life  in  the  township.  There  is  the  town-meeting 
with  power  to  legislate  on  a  number  of  local  matters, 
and  there  is  a  county  administrative  and  legislative 
body  composed  of  town  representatives.  If,  under  this 
system,  townships  are  made  subject  to  counties,  they  are 
subject  to  their  own  official  representatives  ;  and  the 
system  facilitates  the  shifting  of  business  from  town- 
ship to  county,  or  from  county  to  township,  as  con- 
venience may  dictate. 

Local  Government  in  Pennsylvania.  —  Unlike  New 
England  and  New  York,  Pennsylvania  organized  the 
county  as  the  first  local  government.  Its  form  was  that 
of  the  English  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  already  de- 
scribed. But  in  Pennsylvania  the  justices  were  at  first 
elected  by  the  people  ;  afterwards  they  were  appointed 


16      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

by  the  governor]  Being  the  only  local  government, 
the  county  court  attended  to  many  kinds  of  business 
which  were  not  judicial.  By  various  statutes,  begin- 
ning with  1724,  the  non-judicial  business^  wtis  taken 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  court  and  placed  in  the  hands 
of  commissioners  elected  by  the  people.  As  population 
increased,  townships  were  organized  for  the  purpose  of 
choosing  local  officers  to  assist  the  county  government 
in  the  execution  of  the  law.  The  townships  which 
were  thus  organized  became  an  important  agency. 
In  some  parts  of  the  state  they  took  the  entire  burden 
of  caring  for  the  poor.  Township  supervisors  have  the 
care  of  highways,  and  township  assessors  value  the 
property  for  purposes  of  taxation.  But  the  townships 
thus  originating  have  no  town-meeting  with  powers  of 
local  legislation;  the  legislative  function  is  exceedingly 
limited,  and  is  in  the  hands  of  a  representative  township 
board.  Nor  does  the  Pennsylvania  township  have  any 
representation  in  the  county  board,  as  do  the  New  York 
townships. 

Townships  on  the  Pennsylvania  model  are  repro- 
duced in  states  farther  west,  —  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Iowa, 
Missouri,  and  Kansas. 

Local  Government  in  Virginia.  —  For  the  first  few 
years,  the  government  of  the  colony  of  Virginia  resem- 
bled a  military  despotism.  The  first  Colonial  Assembly, 
in  1619,  had  in  it  representatives  from  eleven  local 
areas  called  hundreds,  towns,  cities, "  gifts  "  and  plan- 
tations. From  the  name  given  to  the  assembly,  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  the  chief  local  unit  seems  to  have 
been  the  town  or  borough.  Parishes  were  also  early 
organized  on  the  English  model.  In  1634  the  legisla- 


ORIGIN  OF  LOCAL   GOVERNMENTS.  17 

ture  passed  an  act  for  the  division  of  the  country  into 
eight  shires,  to  be  "  governed  as  the  shires  in  England." 
Many  things  contributed  in  Virginia  to  cause  the  county 
to  grow  at  the  expense  of  all  other  forms  of  local  gov- 
ernment. Those  having  control  of  affairs  were  de- 
scended from  county  families,  or  country  gentlemen  in 
England  who  were  most  familiar  with  county  govern- 
ment. The  land  in  Virginia  was  held  in  large  estates, 
or  plantations,  on  which  a  single  crop  was  produced. 
The  growth  of  negro  slavery  tended  to  perpetuate  the 
system  of  large  plantations.  There  existed  also  the 
English  custom  of  entail,  whereby  the  lands  were  kept 
undivided  in  a  family.  Towns  and  villages  did  not 
nourish.  The  Virginia  county  was  the  most  perfect 
reproduction  of  the  English  shire  to  be  found  in  Amer- 
ica. The  justices  who  composed  the  Court  of  Quarter 
Sessions  were  appointed  by  the  governor.  In  course 
of  time  the  members  of  the  Court  adopted  the  practice 
of  nominating  candidates  to  fill  vacancies.  Still  later, 
when  the  nominees  received  appointment  as  a  matter  of 
course,  the  Virginia  county  came  to  be  governed  by 
what  was  virtually  a  close  corporation  filling  its  own 
vacancies.  Thomas  Jefferson  mentions  counties  in  Vir- 
ginia where  the  government  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  one  family. 

Local  Government  in  the  South  and  West.  —  The 
Virginia  system  of  local  government  prevailed  in  North 
Carolina,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee.  These  were  all 
settled  by  Virginians,  and  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions 
was  the  chief  agency  of  local  government.  In  the 
other  southern  states,  and  in  the  states  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  the  county  has 


18     ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

been  the  chief  local  government.  In  these  regions  the 
country  population  has  not  been  dense,  the  burden  of 
local  government  has  not  been  great,  and  hence  some 
form  of  county  government  has  seemed  best  suited  to 
local  needs.  In  recent  years,  as  population  has  increased 
and  as  the  business  of  local  government  has  become 
more  difficult,  there  has  been  a  manifest  tendency  to 
create  within  the  county  some  sort  of  township  system. 
In  some  of  the  states  the  new  system  resembles  that 
of  New  York,  having  the  county  board  composed  of 
representatives  from  the  townships;  in  others  the  town- 
ship and  county  boards  are  independent  of  each  other, 
as  in  Pennsylvania. 

General  Remarks.  —  It  thus  appears  that  three 
distinct  systems  of  local  government  have  resulted 
from  the  transfer  of  English  local  institutions  to 
America. 

1.  The  Township  System  in  New  England,  in  which 
the  greater  part  of  local  business  is  retained  by  the 
towns.     The  county  has  an  altogether  inferior  position. 
The  town  is  the  local  unit,  and  is  for  the  most  part  the 
basis  of  representation  in  the  state  legislature. 

2.  The  Township-County  System  which  prevails  in 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  more  western  states, 
in  which  the  business  of  local  government  is  divided 
between  the  township  and  the  county.    Here  the  county 
is  the  chief  local  unit  and  the  basis  of  representation  in 
the  legislature.     Of  this  system  there  are  two  varieties. 
In  the  first  the  town-meeting  is  retained  with  limited 
legislative  power,  and  the  county  board  is  composed  of 
representatives  from  townships ;  as  in  New  York,  Michi- 
gan, Wisconsin,  Illinois,  and  Nebraska.     In  the  second 


OEIGIN   OF  STATES.  19 

there  is.no  town-meeting,  and  no  township  representa- 
tion on  the  county  board,  as  in  Pennsylvania,  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Iowa.  In  Minnesota  the  townships  have 
the  town-meeting,  without  representation  on  the  county 
board. 

3.  The  County  System  of  the  South  in  which  the 
county  has  been  the  one  local  government  of  great  im- 
portance. The  southern  county  was  an  attenuated 
English  shire  with  the  towns  left  out. 

Of  the  different  forms  of  local  government  the  New 
England  town  is  the  best  for  the  political  education  of 
the  citizen.  In  the  town-meeting  all  the  citizens  have 
a  direct  share  in  transacting  a  great  variety  of  impor- 
tant governmental  business.  The  mixed  township  and 
county  system  gives  opportunity  for  a  large  number  to 
share  in  local  affairs,  but  its  chief  merit  is  found  in  its 
convenience  for  the  despatch  of  local  business.  The 
Southern  system  has  no  merit  as  an  agency  for  general 
political  education.  Its  efficiency  depends  entirely  upon 
the  character  of  the  county  justices. 


CHAPTER   III. 

ORIGIN   OF   STATES. 

WE  get  our  towns,  townships,  and  counties  from  in- 
stitutions transplanted  directly  from  the  Old  World; 
but  our  states  were  not  thus  derived.  Above  the  shire, 
in  England,  stood  the  general  government  of  the  king- 
dom, consisting  of  (1)  The  King  and  his  Ministers  or 
Council;  (2)  Parliament,  composed  of  the  House  of 


20      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

Lords  and  the  House  of  Commons ;  (3)  The  Assize,  or 
Circuit  Courts,  and  other  high  courts.  This  was  the 
model  for  the  general  government  in  the  colonies,  so  far 
as  they  had  a  model.  But  during  the  century  in  which 
colonies  were  founded,  the  English  government  was  in 
a  most  unsettled  condition.  The  king  claimed  that  all 
power,  legislative,  executive  and  judicial,  rested  in  him ; 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  Parliament  and  the  judges  to 
assist  him  in  governing.  Parliament  claimed  that  the 
making  of  laws  was  its  business,  and  that  it  was  the 
duty  of  the  king  to  observe,  obey  and  execute  the  laws 
of  Parliament.  The  judges,  being  appointed  by  the 
king,  were  generally  subservient  to  his  will.  When  the 
colonies  were  founded,  the  true  character  of  the  English 
government  was  not  determined. 

Motives  for  Founding-  Colonies.  —  The  founding  of 
colonies  was  the  result  of  various  causes  and  motives. 
The  government  and  the  ruling  classes  desired  to  ex- 
tend the  dominion  and  commerce  of  England,  and  to 
make  good  their  claims  to  the  territory  of  North  Amer- 
ica, against  their  rivals,  France,  Spain  and  Holland.  To 
accomplish  these  ends,  the  kings  of  England  Avere  in- 
duced to  grant  liberal  charters,  and  to  bestow  many 
favors  which  would  otherwise  have  been  withheld.  The 
motives  on  the  part  of  colonists  were  a  desire  to  better 
their  condition,  and  a  love  of  adventure ;  but  their  love 
of  liberty  and  their  devotion  to  religious  convictions  for 
which  they  had  been  persecuted  at  home,  had  most  to 
do  in  determining  the  character  of  government  in  Amer- 
ica. Some  of  these  colonists  came  with  the  definite 
intention  of  preserving  English  liberty  by  founding  a 
free  state  in  the  wilderness.  Many  were  men  of  un- 


ORIGIN   OF  STATES.  21 

usual  religious  fervor.  They  would  die  rather  than 
disobey  conscience.  Persecution  sent  many  Europeans 
to  America.  Persecuted  Puritans  and  Pilgrims  (or 
Separatists)  founded  the  first  colonies  in  Massachusetts ; 
persecuted  Quakers  founded  Pennsylvania ;  persecuted 
Catholics  found  for  a  time  a  refuge  in  Maryland ;  per- 
secuted Protestants,  from  France,  found  homes  in  the 
Southern  colonies.  These  all  might  have  lived  peace- 
fully in  their  former  homes,  if  they  had  consented  to 
violate  their  consciences. 

The  First  Permanent  Colony.  —  Early  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  the  French  began  to  make  settlements 
in  Canada.  In  1606  a  Company  was  chartered,  in  Lon- 
don, England,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  colonies  in 
America.  The  following  year  this  Company  began  a 
settlement  on  the  banks  of  the  James  River.  Accord- 
ing to  the  charter  the  colony  was  to  be  governed  by  a 
Superior  Council  in  England  and  an  Inferior  Council 
in  Virginia ;  and  the  members  of  these  governing  bod- 
ies were  appointed  by  the  king.  The  colony  did  not 
prosper,  and  to  prevent  the  entire  failure  of  the  enter- 
prise, the  king  granted  in  quick  succession  two  new 
charters  to  the  London  Company.  A  large  share  of 
the  government  of  the  colony  was  transferred  to  the 
merchants  who  were  incurring  the  expense. 

The  Governor  and  his  Council.  —  The  first  office  of 
permanent  importance  to  appear  in  the  general  govern- 
ment of  the  colony  was  that  of  Governor.  The  Inferior 
Council  of  seven,  residing  in  Virginia,  had  quarrelled 
among  themselves,  and  in  the  new  charters  power  was 
centralized  in  a  governor  named  by  the  London  Com- 
pany and  approved  by  the  king.  As  the  king  of  Eng- 


22     ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

land  had  associated  with  him  a  Privy  Council  composed 
of  the  chief  men  of  the  kingdom,  so  the  governor  of  the 
colony  called  the  chief  men  of  the  colony  to  assist  him 
in  the  government.  As  the  king  and  his  council  in 
early  English  history  were  at  the  same  time  law-makers, 
law-executors,  and  judges,  so  the  governor  and  his  coun- 
cil at  first  performed  all  the  functions  of  a  general  gov- 
ernment. They  made  laws,  they  administered  laws, 
they  were  the  highest  court  of  appeal  in  cases  at  law. 

The  First  Legislature.  —  In  1619  Governor  Yeard- 
ley,  acting  in  accord  with  the  wishes  of  the  London 
Company,  called  upon  the  eleven  settlements  along  the 
James  River  to  elect  two  delegates  each,  to  meet  with 
his  council  and  take  part  in  the  government  of  the 
colony.  This  body  received  the  name  of  House  of 
Burgesses,  and  is  memorable  as  the  first  representative 
assembly  in  the  New  World.  At  first  the  Burgesses 
sat  in  one  body  with  the  governor  and  his  council,  as  in 
England  the  first  representatives  of  counties  and  bor- 
oughs sat  with  the  lords  and  bishops  who  composed  the 
king's  council.  Later  the  elected  members  adopted  the 
practice  of  meeting  by  themselves;  and  the  governor 
and  his  council  then  became  known  as  the  Upper 
House.  When  Virginia  separated  from  England,  in 
the  Revolutionary  War,  provision  was  made  in  the 
new  constitution  for  electing  the  members  of  the  Upper 
House,  and  its  name  was  changed  to  Senate. 

Civil  Strife.  —  As  previously  stated,  there  was,  dur- 
ing this  century,  an  almost  constant  strife  between  the 
king  and  Parliament,  and  this  strife  extended  to  Vir- 
ginia, and  had  much  to  do  in  determining  the  course  of 
its  history.  The  London  Company  were  in  sympathy 


ORIGIN   OF  STATES.  23 

with  Parliament ;  and  because  of  their  opposition  to  the 
arbitrary  rule  of  the  king  they  were  the  more  disposed 
to  establish  and  maintain  the  "  Little  Parliament "  in 
Virginia.  In  1621  the  Company  drew  up  and  sent  to 
Virginia  a  very  liberal  frame  of  government,  giving  to 
the  colonial  legislature  important  powers.  The  king  re- 
taliated by  dissolving  the  London  Company  and  taking 
the  government  of  the  colony  into  his  own  hands. 
Virginia  thus  became  a  royal  province  in  1624.  The 
governor  thenceforward  was  appointed  by  the  king,  and 
he  selected  his  own  council  and  appointed  the  other 
judges.  But  the  Virginians  still  clung  to  a  share  in 
the  government  through  their  representatives.  The 
king  sought  to  replenish  his  treasury  by  obtaining  a 
monopoly  of  Virginia  tobacco,  and  the  legislature  in- 
sisted upon  liberal  terms.  A  tyrannical  governor, 
Harvey,  was  thrust  out  of  the  colony  for  wrong-doing 
in  1636,  but  was  immediately  restored  by  the  king. 

Virginia  Royalists.  —  Many  of  the  Virginians  were 
descended  from  families  of  the  English  nobility ;  and 
while  they  were  pleased  to  have  their  own  way  in 
colonial  affairs,  they  had  strong  sympathies  with  the 
king  in  his  struggle  with  Parliament.  They  were  hor- 
rified at  the  beheading  of  Charles  I.,  in  1649.  The 
legislature  passed  a  resolution  inviting  Charles  II.  to 
come  to  Virginia.  Parliament  immediately  sent  out 
a  commission  to  bring  into  submission  the  rebellious 
colony.  The  Virginians  yielded  at  once,  and  during 
the  ten  years  of  the  Commonwealth  they  were  permitted 
to  exercise  almost  entire  self-government.  The  Assembly 
chose  the  governors  and  provided  for  the  revenue.  The 
colony  enjoyed  great  prosperity  during  this  period. 


24     ORIGIN  OF  OUE  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

Berkeley  and  Bacon.  —  When  Charles  II.  was  ac* 
knowledged  king  of  England,  in  1660,  the  loyal  Vir- 
ginians at  once  accepted  him  as  their  king,  and  were 
rewarded  for  their  loyalty  by  a  long  term  of  tyrannical 
rule.  Berkeley  was  appointed  governor,  and  for  six- 
teen years  he  ruled  without  a  newly  elected  assembly. 
At  length  his  tyranny  became  so  intolerable  that  the  col- 
ony arose  in  rebellion  under  the  leadership  of  Nathaniel 
Bacon,  a  Virginia  planter.  For  a  time  the  insurgents 
were  successful,  and  Berkeley  was  driven  from  the 
capital.  But  upon  the  sudden  death  of  Bacon,  Berkeley 
returned  to  power,  and  hanged  a  score  or  more  of  the 
Virginians,  almost  without  trial,  so  that  Charles  was  led 
to  exclaim :  "  The  old  fool  ha3  hanged  more  men  in  that 
naked  country  than  I  have  done  for  the  murder  of  my 
father !  "  The  effect  of  these  experiences  was  to  lead 
Virginians  to  prize  the  privilege  of  self-government. 
When  Parliament  gained  a  final  triumph  over  the  king, 
in  the  Revolution  of  1688,  the  Virginians  were  quite 
willing  to  take  the  full  power  which  was  permitted  to 
their  Little  Parliament.  When,  nearly  a  hundred  years 
later,  another  king  and  Parliament  proposed  to  tax  the 
colonies  without  their  consent,  the  Virginians  were 
among  the  first  to  sound  the  alarm  and  voice  the  senti- 
ment of  American  liberty. 

Similar  Strife  in  Other  Colonies.  —  The  experience 
of  Virginia  was  repeated  with  variations  in  a  number 
of  the  colonies.  The  Carolinas  were  for  a  time  in  the 
hands  of  governors  appointed  by  the  king  of  England 
and  certain  noblemen  to  whom  he  had  given  the  prov- 
ince. Later,  the  king  took  the  province  from  the  noble- 
inen.  Here,  also,  there  was  a  contest  for  legislative  repre- 


ORIGIN   OF  STATES.  25 

sentation,  with  times  of  intolerable  tyranny,  followed 
by  a  long  period  of  comparative  freedom.  When  New 
York  was  taken  from  the  Dutch,  in  1664,  it  was  given 
by  the  king  to  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  York.  For  a 
time  the  colony  was  ruled  by  governor  and  council, 
with  no  representative  assembly.  Discontent  and  strife 
continued  until  an  assembly  was  granted,  in  1683. 

Proprietary  Colonies.  —  The  right  to  found  colonies, 
and  enjoy  certain  benefits  arising  therefrom,  was  given 
riot  only  to  mercantile  companies,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
London  and  Plymouth  Companies,  but  also  to  noted 
individuals.  These  colonies,  which  were  called  Pro- 
prietary, all  proved  temporary,  except  Maryland  and 
Pennsylvania.  Maryland  was  given  to  Lord  Baltimore 
and  his  heirs,  and  Pennsylvania  to  William  Penh  and 
his  heirs.  With  slight  interruptions  these  continued 
till  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  Proprietary  Colonies 
were  under  a  governor  named  by  the  proprietor,  and 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  time  enjoyed  represen- 
tative assemblies.  The  Pennsylvania  charter  gave  the 
people  a  liberal  share  in  the  government,  and  Pennsyl- 
vania was,  from  the  first,  one  of  the  freest  of  the  colo- 
nies. 

The  First  Charter  Colony.  —  The  part  of  the  terri 
tory  claimed  by  England  which  was  most  threatened  by 
rival  nations,  was  the  country  between  the  Hudson 
River  and  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  The  French  began  a 
settlement  in  Nova  Scotia  before  the  English  settled  at 
Jamestown.  A  little  later  the  Dutch  began  a  colony 
on  the  Hudson.  The  Plymouth  Company  failed  to  get 
Englishmen  to  live  on  their  lands.  The  Pilgrim  Fa- 
thers, who  came  in  1620,  were  a  slight  security  against 


26      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

the  French  and  the  Dutch.  A  new  "  Council  of  Ply- 
mouth "  was  organized  in  1620  in  place  of  the  old  com- 
pany, and  received  full  powers  to  form  settlements  in 
the  territory  between  the  latitudes  40°  and  48°.  In 
1629  a  company  of  Puritans  secured  a  grant  of  land 
from  the  Council  of  Plymouth,  north  of  the  lands  already 
occupied  by  the  Pilgrims.  The  king  gave  to  this  com- 
pany a  liberal  charter  for  the  management  of  their  col- 
ony. The  company,  whose  real  design  was  to  found  a 
free  colony  to  resist  the  tyranny  of  the  king,  emigrated 
in  a  body  the  following  year,  taking  their  charter  with 
them.  According  to  its  terms  the  colonists  who  were 
members  of  the  company  chose  their  own  governor, 
deputy-governor  and  eighteen  assistants.  Later,  all  the 
colonists  who  were  members  of  the  church  were  ad- 
mitted into  the  company.  The  governor  and  assistants 
received  the  name  of  General  Court,  and  were  empow- 
ered to  exercise  general  legislative,  executive,  and  judi- 
cial control  over  the  colony.  In  1634  representatives 
from  the  various  towns  formed  a  part  of  the  General 
Court  and  began  to  assume  control.  Thus  was  estab- 
lished the  oldest  of  the  charter  colonies  in  America. 

Voluntary  Associations.  —  The  colony  .founded  at 
Plymouth  in  1620  was  a  purely  voluntary  association. 
The  settlers  had  no  authority  from  any  source  for  their 
acts.  For  several  years  the  form  of  their  General  Court 
differed  in  no  respect  from  a  town-meeting.  It  was 
made  up  of  all  the  freemen  of  the  colony,  assembled  to 
transact  the  business  of  the  colony.  In  1639  repre- 
sentatives were  chosen  from  the  towns  to  attend  to 
matters  of  general  interest.  Plymouth  became  a  part 
of  Massachusetts  under  the  new  charter  given  by  Wil- 


ORIGIN   OF  STATES.  27 

Ham  III.,  in  1691.  Rhode  Island  was  at  first  a  volun- 
tary association  founded  under  the  guidance  of  Roger 
Williams,  who  had  been  banished  from  Massachusetts. 
For  many  years  the  government  was  a  pure  democracy, 
in  which  all  the  freemen  had  an  equal  share  in  making 
laws  and  directing  the  affairs  of  the  colony.  As  popu- 
lation increased,  a  representative  assembly  was  formed. 
A  charter  was  obtained  from  the  Long  Parliament  in 
1644.  Later,  when  the  acts  of  the  Long  Parliament 
were  repudiated  by  the  Parliament  of  Charles  II.,  a  new 
and  very  liberal  charter  was  granted  by  the  king  in 
1663.  The  first  colonies  in  Connecticut  were  unauthor- 
ized associations,  but  fortunately  they  secured  a  charter 
from  the  king  in  1662,  which  confirmed  all  the  privi- 
leges of  self-government  which  they  had  previously 
assumed. 

Struggle  for  the  Charters.  —  Thus  the  three  oldest 
New  England  colonies  came  to  be  governed  by  liberal 
charters  given  by  the  king.  They  had  a  taste  of  tyranny 
for  a  brief  time,  under  the  rule  of  Andros,  who  was  sent 
to  New  England  by  James  II.  to  take  away  their  char- 
ter privileges.  But  when  the  people  of  England  drove 
James  from  the  throne,  the  people  of  New  England 
banished  Andros  and  regained  their  liberties. 

The  Colonies  become  States.  —  The  part  of  the 
general  colonial  governments  most  highly  prized  was 
the  representative  assembly.  As  the  people  of  England 
looked  to  the  House  of  Commons  for  protection  against 
kings,  so  the  colonists  looked  to  their  assemblies. 
When,  as  a  result  of  the  century  of  strife,  the  Parlia- 
ment of  England  vindicated  its  right  to  rule,  the  col- 
onists recognized  this  right  as  secured  to  their  own 


* 

28      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

assemblies.  It  served  greatly  to  confirm  this  view  that 
the  English  government  left  the  colonies  in  almost 
entire  control  of  their  affairs  for  about  seventy  years 
after  the  triumph  of  Parliament  in  1689.  When 
George  III.,  who  came  to  the  throne  in  1760,  asserted 
the  right  to  tax  the  colonies  without  the  consent 
of  their  representatives,  he  was  looked  upon  as  a  vio- 
lator of  the  English  constitution.  The  wisest  statesmen 
in  England  in  the  days  of  George  III.,  and  nearly  all 
Englishmen  to-day,  regard  the  king  and  his  party  as  the 
real  Revolutionists,  while  Washington  and  his  associ- 
ates stood  for  the  dearly  bought  liberties  of  the  English 
constitution.  In  that  contest  with  the  king  they  were 
driven  to  renounce  their  allegiance  to  the  English  gov- 
ernment, and  to  make  good  the  declaration  "  that  these 
United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and 
independent  states." 

Classification  of  the  Colonies.  —  From  the  foregoing 
paragraphs  it  will  be  observed  that  the  colonial  gov- 
ernments may  be  divided  into  three  general  classes: 
1.  Charter  Colonies,  as  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island, 
and  Connecticut,  which  were  governed  according  to 
charters  granted  to  them  by  the  king  of  England.  2. 
Proprietary  Colonies,  as  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland, 
where  the  grant  was  made  to  an  individual  and  his 
heirs,  in  whose  hands  was  placed  the  general  super- 
vision of  the  colony.  3.  Royal  Provinces,  where  the 
king  appointed  the  governors  and  exercised  general 
supervision  over  the  colony.  Nearly  all  the  colonies, 
during  a  part  of  their  history,  were  governed  as  Roy^al 
Provinces. 


ORIGIN   OF  STATES.  29 

State  Offices  derived  from  Colonial  Govern- 
ments. —  When  the  colonies  became  states,  by  assuming 
independence,  the  governments  were  in  many  respects 
changed:  1.  The  House  of  Representatives,  or  the 
lower  house  in  the  state  legislature,  was  derived  from 
the  colonial  assembly.  This  was  the  one  part  of  the 
colonial  governments  to  which  the  people  were  greatly 
attached,  and  it  was  continued  in  the  new  state  with 
little  change.  2.  In  the  colonial  governments  the  Gov- 
ernor and  his  Council,  in  addition  to  being  the  chief 
executive,  served  as  an  "Upper  House"  in  the  legis- 
lature, and  were  the  highest  court  of  appeal  in  the 
colony.  A  new  house,  called  in  most  of  the  states  a 
Senate,  was  elected  to  fulfil  the  legislative  duties  of 
the  Governor  and  his  Council.  3.  The  Governor  was 
continued  as  the  chief  executive  officer.  He  ceased  to 
be  a  member  of  the  legislature,  and  instead  of  being 
appointed  by  king  or  proprietor  he  was  chosen  by 
popular  election,  or,  in  a  few  of  the  states,  at  first,  by 
the  legislature.  4.  To  attend  to  the  judicial  business 
of  the  Governor  and  his  Council,  Supreme  Courts  were 
established. 

This  general  description  cannot  be  applied  to  all  of 
the  thirteen  states.  As  will  be  seen  in  the  next  chap- 
ter, Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  became  states  with 
almost  no  modification  in  the  form  of  government. 
Pennsylvania  for  several  years  had  only  one  house  in 
the  legislature. 


30      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 
CHAPTER   IV. 

ORIGIN   OF   STATE    CONSTITUTIONS. 

IT  will  be  observed  by  reading  a  state  constitution 
that  it  contains:  1.  A  bill  of  rights.  2.  A  frame  of 
government,  which  is  the  essential  part  of  the  constitu- 
tion, describing  the  officers  and  their  duties.  3.  Various 
minor  provisions  denning  the  boundaries  of  the  state, 
specifying  what  persons  have  a  right  to  vote,  the 
method  of  amending  and  ratifying  the  constitution, 
and  requirements  concerning  schools,  corporations,  and 
other  matters. 

The  Bill  of  Rights.  —  The  bill  of  rights  has  the 
effect  of  limiting  the  power  of  the  officers  of  govern- 
ment by  specifying  the  rights  and  privileges  which  they 
must  not  take  from  the  citizen.  This  part  of  our  con- 
stitutions is  derived  in  part  from  documents  memorable 
in  English  history.  1.  In  1215,  King  John,  having  in- 
curred the  hatred  of  all  classes  of  his  subjects,  was 
met  by  his  great  lords  in  arms  at  Runnymede,  on  the 
Thames  River,  and  compelled  to  sign  a  document 
which  contained  a  summary  of  all  the  rights,  priv- 
ileges, and  immunities  which  were  then  reckoned  as 
belonging  to  Englishmen.  To  this  document,  known 
as  Magna  Charta,  Englishmen  and  Americans  look  as 
the  source  of  many  of  their  liberties.  In  it  are  recog- 
nized the  principle  of  taxation  by  a  representative  body, 
trial  by  jury,  the  right  to  speedy  trial,  and  compensation 
for  property  taken  for  public  purposes.  2  The  Peti 
tion  of  Right,  exacted  by  the  House  of  Commons  from 


ORIGIN   OF  STATS  CONSTITUTIONS.  31 

Charles  I.  in  1628,  defined  some  of  these  rights  more 
clearly,  and  denied  to  the  government  the  right  to 
quarter  troops  upon  citizens  in  time  of  peace.  3.  The 
Habeas  Corpus  Act  passed  in  1679  made  it  more  diffi- 
cult for  the  government  to  keep  a  citizen  in  prison 
without  just  cause.  According  to  this  act  one  who 
thinks  himself  unjustly  imprisoned  may  apply  to  any 
court  in  the  vicinity  for  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus.  It  then  becomes  the  duty  of  the  court 
to  issue  an  order  commanding  an  officer  to  bring  the 
body  of  the  prisoner  into  court  and  show  cause  why  he 
is  held ;  and  if  sufficient  cause  is  not  shown,  the  court 
must  require  his  release.  4.  Last  of  these  documents 
is  the  Bill  of  Rights,  drawn  up  by  Parliament  at  the 
time  of  the  final  triumph  over  the  Stuart  kings,  in 
1689,  from  which  both  the  name  and  the  form  of  this 
part  of  the  American  state  constitutions  have  been  de- 
rived. 

Town  Charters.  —  There  •  is  little  in  the  general 
government  of  England  from  which  the  idea  of  a  writ- 
ten frame  of  government  may  be  derived.  The  Eng- 
lish frame  of  government  is  not  committed  to  writing. 
But  there  are  certain  minor  and  local  documents  which 
have  an  important  relation  to  American  state  constitu- 
tions. William  the  Conqueror  addressed  to  the  Port- 
Reeve  and  burghers  of  London,  French  and  English, 
the  following :  "I  do  you  to  wit  that  I  will  that  ye 
twain  [English  and  French]  -be  worthy  of  all  that  ye 
were  worthy  of  in  King  Eadward's  day ;  and  I  will  that 
every  child  be  his  father's  heir,  after  his  father's  day ; 
and  I  will  not  endure  that  any  man  offer  any  wrong  to 
you.  God  keep  you."  This  would  seem  a  pretty  lean 


32      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

constitution  for  a  town,  yet  it  is  the  beginning  of  that 
remarkable  series  of  documents,  known  in  history  as 
the  charters  of  English  towns.  These  charters  not  only 
granted  rights  and  privileges,  but  many  of  them  con- 
tained a  frame  of  government  for  the  town. 

The  Grand  Model.  —  One  of  the  first  documents  to 
receive  the  name  of  constitution  in  America  was  the 
famous  GRAND  MODEL  prepared  by  John  Locke  in  1669. 
This  was  called  "  The  Fundamental  Constitutions  of 
Carolina."  It  was  certainly  an  elaborate  paper  consti- 
tution. The  Englishmen  who  were  expected  to  live 
according  to  its  provisions  paid  little  attention  to  it. 
They  went  right  on,  making  constitutions  after  the 
manner  of  their  ancestors,  by  forming  such  habits  of 
government  as  their  circumstances  seemed  to  require. 

Colonial  Charters.  —  The  charters  given  to  the  Lon- 
don and  Plymouth  companies  were  not  different  from 
other  charters  which  kings  had  granted  to  guilds  and 
mercantile  companies  in  the  towns  and  cities  of  Eng- 
land; yet  they  contained  an  outline  of  a  constitution 
for  an  American  colony.  The  charter  given  to  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  Company  was  transferred  to  Amer- 
ica and  used  as  a  written  constitution  for  the  colony ; 
and  when  Massachusetts  became  a  state  the  colonial 
charter,  granted  by  William  III.  in  1691,  served  as  a 
model  for  the  state  constitution.  The  people  of  Con- 
necticut had  a  most  liberal  charter;  and,  when  the 
Revolutionary  War  broke  out,  the  legislature  put  forth 
this  declaration:  "The  people  of  this  state  being,  by 
the  providence  of  God,  free  and  independent,  having 
the  sole  and  exclusive  right  of  governing  themselves  as 
a  free,  sovereign,  and  independent  state ;  and  having 


ORIGIN   OF  STATE  CONSTITUTIONS.  33 

from  their  ancestors  derived  a  free  and  excellent  con- 
stitution of  government,  whereby  the  legislature  de- 
pends on  the  free  and  annual  election  of  the  people, 
they  have  the  best  security  for  the  preservation  of  their 
civil  and  religious  rights  and  liberties."  Then  follows 
an  act  adopting  the  charter  given  by  Charles  II.  as 
"the  civil  constitution  of  the  state,  under  the  sole  au- 
thority of  the  people  thereof,  independent  of  any  king 
or  prince  whatever."  This  act  remained  in  force  till 
1818,  when  by  a  small  majority  the  people  displaced 
the  old  constitution  by  a  new  one. 

Rhode  Island.  —  The  colony  of  Rhode  Island  like- 
wise had  a  liberal  charter  given  by  the  same  king.  At 
the  time  of  the  Revolution  they  do  not  appear  even  to 
have  taken  the  trouble  to  adopt  their  old  charter  as 
their  state  constitution,  but  went  right  on  using  it  as 
the  constitution  until  1842.  When  the  attempt  was 
made  to  dispense  with  the  charter  and  adopt  a  new  con- 
stitution, it  created  such  a  turmoil  that  it  was  necessary 
to  invoke  the  aid  of  the  federal  government  to  preserve 
order  till  the  state  adopted  its  modern  organic  law. 

The  State  Constitutions.  —  With  the  exception  of 
Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  each  of  the  thirteen 
states  framed  and  adopted  a  state  constitution.  In 
nearly  all  cases  this  was  done  by  a  convention  of  dele- 
gates chosen  for  the  purpose.  The  constitution  when 
framed  was  commonly  adopted  by  the  convention,  and 
was  carried  into  effect  by  its  order.  In  some  cases,  how- 
ever, it  was  submitted  to  the  people  for  ratification. 

These  constitutions  renounce  the  authority  of  the 
king  of  England,  and  set  forth  the  doctrine  that  all 
government  of  right  belongs  to  the  people.  Some  of 


34      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

them  state  that  government  is  a  social  compact  "by 
which  the  whole  people  covenants  with  each  citizen, 
and  each  citizen  with  the  whole  people."  In  these 
documents  maybe  found  a  statement  of  all  the  rights 
ever  claimed  by  Englishmen.  The  bill  of  rights  is,  in 
some  cases,  separate  from  the  constitution.  The  con- 
vention of  New  Jersey  "agreed  upon  a  set  of  charter 
rights  and  the  form  of  a  constitution  in  the  manner 
following,"  etc.  North  Carolina  presents  first  a  long 
bill  of  rights,  and  then,  under  a  separate  title,  "  The 
Constitution,  or  Form  of  Government,  etc." 

These  constitutions  refer  to  the  people  as  the  source 
of  authority.  In  some  cases  they  record  that  the  fram- 
ers  are  acting  in  accordance  with  the  recommendation 
of  the  Continental  Congress.  New  Jersey  alludes  to 
the  Congress  as  "  the  supreme  council  of  the  American 
colonies."  New  York  quotes  entire  the  act  of  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  recommending  the  colonies  to  form 
governments  of  their  own,  and  also  the  whole  Declara- 
tion of  Independence. 

The  Three  Departments  of  Government.  —  In  all 
these  constitutions  provision  was  made  for  the  three  de- 
partments of  government,  —  Legislative,  Executive,  and 
Judicial.  In  all  except  Pennsylvania  the  legislature 
had  two  houses.  In  some  cases  the  chief  executive  offi- 
cer was  chosen  by  the  legislature.  Maryland  put  into  the 
bill  of  rights  the  doctrine  "  that  the  legislative,  execu- 
tive, and  judicial  powers  of  government  ought  to  be 
forever  separate  and  distinct  from  each  other."  And 
yet,  in  the  body  of  the  constitution,  the  House  of  Dele- 
gates was  empowered  to  "  commit  any  person,  for  any 
crime,  to  the  public  jail,  there  to  remain  till  he  be  dis- 


OEIGIN   OF  STATE  CONSTITUTIONS.  35 

charged  by  due  course  of  law";  and  there  are  other' 
provisions  conferring  judicial  power  on  the  legislature. 
The  doctrine  of  the  three  distinct  departments  of  gov- 
ernment was  most  explicitly  stated  in  the  constitution  of 
Virginia. 

The  First  State  Constitutions  Models  for  Later 
Ones.  —  These  state  constitutions,  framed  by  the  people 
of  the  thirteen  original  states  when  the  Revolution 
threw  them  upon  their  own  resources,  haare  served  as 
models  for  the  federal  Constitution,  and  for  all  the 
other  state  constitutions  which  have  since  been  made. 
New  states  have  been  formed  by  the  division  of  other 
states,  and  out  of  territory  which  never  was  connected 
with  any  state.  Vermont,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Ala- 
bama, and  Mississippi  were  made  from  the  territory  of 
older  states.  Maine  was  taken  from  Massachusetts, 
and  West  Virginia  from  Virginia.  The  greater  part  of 
the  other  states  have  been  organized  out  of  United 
States  territory.  Texas  was  annexed  to  the  United 
States  with  a  constitution  already  formed. 

The  Making  of  a  New  State.  —  The  ordinary  process 
by  which  a  state  comes  into  existence  is  as  follows: 
Citizens  of  the  United  States,  entering  unoccupied  terri- 
tory, make  for  themselves  such  government  as  they  can. 
When  sufficiently  numerous,  they  are  supplied  with  a 
territorial  government  by  act  of  Congress.  As  the 
population  increases,  and  a  desire  arises  for  a  state  gov- 
ernment, Congress  passes  what  is  called  "  an  enabling 
•act."  In  pursuance  of  this  act,  the  people  of  the  terri- 
tory agree  upon  a  state  constitution,  and,  if  it  is  ap- 
proved by  Congress,  the  territory  becomes  a  state.  In 
some  instances,  however,  the  people  in  the  territory  of 


36      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

a  proposed  state  have  adopted  a  constitution,  and  have 
been  admitted  by  Congress  without  an  enabling  act. 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE   ORIGIN   OF   THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION. 

The  Unioa  of  New  England  Colonies.  —  A  notable 
attempt  to  form  a  confederation  among  English  colonies 
in  America  occurred  in  1643,  between  the  colonies  of 
Massachusetts,  Plymouth,  Connecticut,  and  New  Haven. 
Representatives  from  these  colonies  met  and  drew  up  a 
constitution,  providing  for  mutual  protection  and  the 
distribution  of  burdens,  for  the  return  to  each  colony 
of  escaped  criminals  and  servants,  and  for  various  other 
matters  of  common  interest.  Two  commissioners  were 
chosen  from  each  colony  to  exercise  the  powers  granted 
by  the  constitution.  But  the  constitution  provided  that 
the  colonies  should  "  each  of  them,  in  all  respects,  have 
peculiar  jurisdiction  and  government  within  their  limits 
respectively."  It  seems  to  have  been  difficult,  in  prac- 
tice, to  maintain  a  general  government  which  could  act 
efficiently,  and  at  the  same  time  leave  each  local  govern- 
ment in  all  respects  independent. 

The  Albany  Convention. — War  and  common  dan- 
gers made  it  desirable  to  have  a  general  government  for  • 
all  the  English  colonies  in  America.  Before  the  begin- 
ning of  the  great  contest  between  England  and  France 
for  the  possession  of  North  America,  the  English  gov- 
ernment recommended  to  the  colonies  in  America  the 
formation  of  a  union  for  common  defence.  Represeuta- 


ORIGIN   OF  THE  FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.        37 

tives  from  a  number  of  the  colonies  met  in  Albany  in 
1754,  and  adopted  a  plan  of  union  subject  to  the  ap- 
proval of  the  English  government  and  the  separate 
colonies.  The  English  government  rejected  the  plan, 
because  it  gave  too  much  power  to  the  proposed  colo- 
nial government;  and  the  colonies  rejected  it  because 
it  gave  too  much  power  to  England. 

Colonial  Congresses.  —  The  wars  between  the  Eng- 
lish and  the  French  had  habituated  the  colonies  to  united 
action  in  war.  The  attempt  of  the  English  government 
to  violate  their  constitutional  rights,  by  taxing  them 
without  their  consent,  soon  taught  them  to  consult  and 
act  together  in  matters  of  civil  government.  In  the 
Congress  of  1765  the  representatives  from  the  colonies 
gave  united  expression  to  their  views.  In  the  ten  years 
following,  the  colonists  were  agitating  for  their  rights 
under  the  English  Constitution.  They  agreed  upon 
plans  of  opposition  to  British  tyranny,  and  carried  them 
into  effect  by  voluntary  associations  and  by  the  force  of 
public  opinion.  A  congress  met  in  1774,  and  gave  full 
expression  to  colonial  sentiment,  and  before  adjourning 
recommended  another  congress  on  the  tenth  of  May, 
1775. 

The  Continental  Congress.  —  This  body  of  repre- 
sentatives, coming  together  soon  after  the  battle  of  Lex- 
ington, assumed  the  name  of  Continental  Congress  for 
the  United  Colonies  of  America,  and  began  at  once  to 
act  as  a  government.  They  voted  to  raise  armies,  ap- 
point generals,  issue  paper  money,  and  did  whatever  the 
exigencies  of  the  time  seemed  to  demand.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  the  Congress  passed  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  There  was  no  written  federal  consti- 


38      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

tution.  Each  state  was  engaged  in  forming  and 
administering  a  constitution  for  itself.  It  was  but 
natural,  therefore,  that  there  should  be  an  attempt  to 
form  a  written  federal  constitution. 

The  Articles  of  Confederation.  —  The  Articles  of 
Confederation  were  adopted  by  Congress,  in  1778,  but 
were  not  ratified  until  near  the  close  of  the  war.  This 
constitution  proved  to  be  unsatisfactory.  It  left  the 
states  sovereign,  free,  and  independent.  No  adequate 
provision  was  made  for  the  enforcement  of  federal  laws. 
There  was  a  federal  debt,  and  no  means  of  payment. 
There  were  disputes  between  the  states  which  threat- 
ened civil  war.  Each  state  had  a  separate  system  of 
duties  and  imposts,  which  led  to  great  confusion  in  com- 
merce. The  paper  money  issued  by  Congress  had 
wrought  such  injustice  as  to  madden  multitudes-  to  the 
point  of  rebellion.  The  statesmen  of  the  period  pre- 
ferred to  hold  office  in  the  state  legislature  rather  than 
in  the  Continental  Congress.  The  confederacy  was  on 
the  point  of  dissolution  when  a  movement  was  begun  to 
amend  the  constitution. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  —  The  men 
who  met  in  Philadelphia  in  1787  to  amend  the  Articles 
of  Confederation  had  already  had  several  years  of  ex- 
perience in  making,  amending,  and  administering  the 
written  constitutions  of  their  respective  states.  The 
document  which  was  the  result  of  their  deliberations 
was,  in  many  of  its  features,  modelled  after  the  state 
constitutions.  There  were  the  three  departments  of  gov- 
ernment ;  there  were  two  houses  in  the  Legislature,  the 
upper  house  chosen  in  a  different  way  from  the  lower ; 
the  Chief  Executive  chosen  by  special  electors  selected 


OEIGIN  OF  THE  FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.         39 

for  the  purpose ;  the  Judiciary  appointed  by  the  Execu- 
tive and  confirmed  by  the  Senate.  All  these  and  many 
other  features  of  the  federal  Constitution  were  to  be 
found  in  one  or  another  of  the  state  constitutions.  In 
large  part,  the  making  of  the  United  States  Constitution 
consisted  simply  in  a  judicious  selection  from  existing 
state  constitutions. 

The  Relation  of  a  State  to  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. —  One  great  difficulty  encountered  by  the  framers 
of  the  new  constitution  was  the  adjustment  of  power 
between  the  states  and  the  federal  government.  Some 
thought  it  necessary  to  destroy  all  independent  state 
power,  to  wipe  out  state  lines,  and  make  one  homo- 
geneous government.  According  to  the  view  of  these 
men,  the  states  should  hold  the  same  relation  to  the 
general  government  that  a  county  holds  to  a  state. 
There  were  others  who  held  that  all  real  power  should 
rest  with  the  states;  that  the  states  should  remain  sov- 
ereign and  independent;  that  no  power  should  be  ex- 
ercised by  a  general  government,  except  such  as  each 
state  at  the  time  approved. 

Compromise.  —  A  compromise  was  effected  between 
these  extreme  views.  In  the  new  constitution  certain 
powers  were  expressly  conferred  upon  the  federal-  gov- 
ernment, and  certain  others  were  expressly  forbidden  to 
it.  Certain  powers  were  likewise  forbidden  to  the 
states ;  and  a  clause  was  engrafted  into  the  new  con- 
stitution which  declared  that  the  Constitution,  the  laws, 
and  the  treaties  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  shall  be  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land ;  and  that  the  judges  in  every 
state  shall  be  bound  thereby.  There  is  also  a  clause  re- 
quiring all  officers  in  the  several  states  to  be  bound  by 


40      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

oath  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.1 
An  amendment  to  the  Constitution  declares  that  powers 
not  delegated  to  the  United  States  are  reserved  to  the 
states  respectively,  or  to  the  people.2 

All  the  states  were  finally  induced  to  ratify  the  new 
constitution.  Quite  as  much  credit  is  due  to  the  firm 
hands  which  took  up  the  reins  of  administration,  and 
actually  organized  the  new  government,  as  to  those  who 
made  the  paper  constitution.  In  such  hands  a  much 
poorer  constitution  might  nevertheless  have  been  so 
administered  as  to  give  a  good  government.  In  unskil- 
ful hands  a  much  better  constitution  might  have  utterly 
failed.  Our  new  constitution  was  not  really  made  until 
Washington,  Hamilton,  Jefferson  and  their  associates 
had  given  us  an  actual  government  in  accordance  with 
their  understanding  of  its  provisions. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

ENGLISH  AND  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENTS   COMPARED. 

As  we  compare  the  government  of  the  United  States 
with  that  of  England  there  appear  many  points  of  sim- 
ilarity and  likewise  many  points  of  difference. 

The  English  Constitution  based  upon    Custom.— 
The    English   have  never  attempted  to   commit  their 
frame  of  government  to  writing.     They  consider  that 
action  of  authorities  constitutional  which  is  customary 
or  which  has  been  determined  by  a  law  of  Parliament. 

1  Article  VI.  2  Amendments,  Article  X. 


COMPARISON   OF  GOVERNMENTS.  41 

The  people  have  always  claimed  certain  rights  and 
privileges  which  were  believed  to  be  in  accord  with  the 
good  laws  and  customs  of  the  past.  After  these  rights 
were  summarized  in  Magna  Charta,  the  Petition  of 
Right,  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  and  the  Bill  of  Rights, 
people  naturally  looked  upon  these  documents  as  a  part 
of  the  constitution  of  the  government.  But  the  king, 
the  Lords,  the  House  of  Commons,  and  the  Church 
have  also  enjoyed  by  custom  the  right  of  exercising 
certain  powers.  When  the  exercise  of  one  of  these 
powers  is  felt  to  be  hurtful,  it  has  been  the  habit  of 
the  governing  classes  not  to  abolish  it  directly  by  a 
law  or  by  a  change  in  a  written  constitution,  as  in 
America,  but  by  various  political  devices  to  prevent  its 
being  exercised  for  a  time,  and  then  to  declare  it  lost 
for  want  of  use.  Thus  the  crown  has  lost  the  veto 
power  and  the  choice  of  ministers,  and  the  House  of 
Lords  its  full  equality  with  the  Commons  in  the  mak- 
ing of  laws. 

The  Veto  Power.  —  There  was  a  time  when  the  king 
had  an  undoubted  right  to  veto  a  bill  passed  by  Parlia- 
ment. Kings  exercised  this  right  without  question. 
As  the  Constitution  of  England  is  now  understood,  the 
crown  has  no  such  right.  As  a  recent  writer  of  high 
authority  has  expressed  it:  "The  queen  has  no  such 
veto.  She  must  sign  her  own  death  warrant  if  the  two 
Houses  unanimously  send  it  up  to  her."1  Once  it 
would  have  been  a  violation  of  the  English  Constitu- 
tion to  disregard  the  king's  veto ;  now  it  would  be  a 
violation  of  the  Constitution  for  the  queen  to  exercise 

1  Bagehot :   Constitution  of  England. 


42      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

the  veto  power.  This  change  in  the  Constitution  has 
been  effected  simply  by  the  denial  of  the  right  by  those 
interested  in  the  promotion  of  the  power  of  Parliament, 
and  by  the  kings  ceasing  to  exercise  the  right. 

Choice  of  Ministers. — Again,  there  was  a  time  when 
kings  had  the  undoubted  right  to  choose  their  own  min- 
isters. The  queen  still  goes  through  the  form  of  ap- 
pointing them,  but  is  really  without  power  of  choice. 
In  the  election  of  1880,  when  it  was  evident  that  the 
Conservative  Party  was  beaten,  Lord  Beaconsfield's 
ministry  resigned.  The  English  Constitution,  or  Eng- 
lish custom,  requires  that  a  ministry  shall  resign  their 
office  as  soon  as  they  lose  the  support  of  a  majority  of 
the  House  of  Commons.  When  Beaconsfield  resigned, 
the  queen  sent  for  Lord  Hartington  to  make  up  the 
new  ministry.  Immediately  the  cry  was  raised  that  the 
queen  had  violated  the  Constitution,  which  required 
her  to  send  for  the  leader  of  the  Liberal  Party  to  make 
up  the  new  ministry,  and  the  leader  of  that  party  was 
Mr.  Gladstone.  Now,  in  fact,  there  was  at  that  time  a 
real  confusion  in  the  Liberal  Party  as  to  who  was  their 
leader.  Mr.  Gladstone  had  resigned,  and  Lord  Hart- 
ington had  been  put  forward  as  leader.  But  when  the 
campaign  came  on  Mr.  Gladstone  showed  himself,  by 
his  unrivalled  powers,  to  be  the  real  leader.  The 
queen,  we  may  suppose,  did  the  best  she  could.  She 
sent  for  him  who  had  been  put  forward  as  the  formal 
leader.  But  when  the  nation  demanded  their  real 
leader,  the  queen  complied  with  the  demand.  All 
agree  now  that  the  queen  has  no  real  choice  in  the  mat- 
ter. This  power  once  constitutional,  is  now  unconsti- 
tutional. 


COMPARISON   OF  GOVERNMENTS.  43 

Submission  of  the  House  of  .Lords.  —  At  one  time 
the  House  of  Lords  had  equal  power  with  the  House  of 
Commons.  The  Lords  could  reject  any  bill  passed  by 
the  Commons.  It  would  have  been  regarded  as  a  fla- 
grant violation  of  the  Constitution  to  attempt  to  force 
the  Lords  to  pass  a  law  of  which  they  did  not  approve. 
But  this  is  no  longer  the  case.  A  bill  recently  passed 
the  House  of  Commons  and  was  rejected  by  the  Lords. 
The  cry  was  raised  that  the  Lords  had  done  an  unwar- 
ranted and  unconstitutional  thing.  The  leader  in  the 
House  of  Commons  recently  warned  the  Lords  that  he 
intended  to  use  all  the  power  which  the  Constitution 
furnished  in  order  to  carry  a  particular  law,  which  was 
opposed  by  a  large  majority  of  the  Lords.  It  is  now 
understood  that  the  Constitution  furnishes  to  the  House 
of  Commons  enough  power  to  pass  any  bill,  no  matter 
how  violently  the  Lords  may  oppose  the  measure. 

Centralization  of  Power.  —  Another  way  in  which 
the  English  differs  from  the  American  government  is  in 
the  union  of  executive  and  legislative  power.  In  Amer- 
ica the  tendency  has  been  from  colonial  times,  to  place 
the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  business  of  gov- 
ernment more  and  more  in  the  hands  of  separate  offi- 
cers; while  in  England  there  has  been  an  opposite 
tendency,  especially  as  regards  legislative  and  executive 
business.  In  the  time  of  the  Stuarts,  even  the  Parlia- 
mentary party  looked  upon  the  king  as  the  head  of  the 
executive,  and  the  king  had  a  right  to  choose  his  own 
ministers.  For  centuries  it  had  been  the  experience  of 
the  people  that  a  bad  king  could  thwart  their  will  by 
refusing  to  execute  the  laws  of  Parliament.  After  the 
triumph  of  Parliament  in  the  Revolution  of  1688,  it 


44      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

became  customary  for  the  king  to  select  his  chief  minis- 
ters who  constitute  his  cabinet  from  that  political  party 
which  had  a  majority  in  the  House  of  Commons.  This 
tended  to  harmonize  the  executive  and  the  Parliament. 
But  the  crown  still  had  great  power.  The  king  and 
his  prime  minister  made  appointments  to  the  civil  and 
military  service  and  in  this  way  controlled  many  votes, 
the  whole  number  being  comparatively  small.  Where 
patronage  failed,  votes  were  bought  with  money.  By 
these  and  other  means  the  king  and  his  ministers  con- 
tinued to  exercise  a  controlling  influence  over  Parlia- 
ment for  more  than  a  hundred  years.  By  the  reforms 
of  1832,  1867,  and  1885,  the  elective  franchise  has  been 
extended  to  nearly  all  male  adults.  Secret  voting  is  also 
secured,  and  there  are  effective  laws  against  bribery.  A 
reform  in  the  Civil  Service  in  1857  took  from  the  crown 
the  power  of  patronage  and  made  appointment  to  office 
dependent  upon  competitive  examinations.  By  these 
various  reforms  the  crown  has  lost  control  over  Parlia- 
ment, and  has  thus  lost  all  effective  power. 

The  English  Cabinet  the  Chief  Lawmaker.— 
When  a  new  cabinet  is  to  be  formed,  the  outgoing 
prime  minister  advises  the  queen  to  send  for  the  man 
who  is  leader  of  the  party  having  a  majority  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  This  she  does  and  invites  him  to 
form  a  cabinet.  The  new  prime  minister  confers  with 
the  leading  men  of  his  party,  and  the  various  officers 
of  the  new  cabinet  are  selected.  The  number  in  the 
cabinet  varies  from  nine  to  sixteen.  The  members  of 
the  cabinet  are  members  of  either  the  House  of  Com- 
mons or  the  House  of  Lords.  They  are  at  the  same 
time  the  chief  executive  and  the  chief  legislative  offi- 


COMPARISON   OF  GOVERNMENTS.  45 

cers  of  the  government.  When  the  cabinet  ceases  to 
have  the  power  to  control  legislation  a  new  one  is 
formed  which  has  the  power.  In  this  way  the  two  de- 
partments of  government  which  have  become  separate 
in  the  United  States  have  become  thoroughly  united  in 
England. 

The  Judiciary  in  England.  —  If  Congress  or  a  state 
legislature  should  pass  a  law  which  was  in  conflict  with 
the  provisions  of  the  written  constitution,  our  courts 
would  rule  that  such  a  law  was  void  and  of  no  effect. 
An  English  court  may  not  thus  rule  that  a  law  of  Par- 
liament is  void,  because  to  an  English  court  there  is  no 
authority  superior  to  a  law  of  Parliament.  The  courts 
have  no  discretion;  they  must  give  effect  to  whatever 
Parliament  enacts. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

STATE  AND  FEDERAL  GOVERNMENTS  COMPARED. 

THE  United  States  is  divided  into  states  and  territo- 
ries, the  states  are  divided  into  counties,  the  counties 
are  divided  into  townships.  It  is  natural  to  compare 
the  relation  which  exists  between  a  state  and  the  fed 
eral  government,  with  the  relation  of  a  local  govern- 
ment within  a  state  to  the  state  government. 

The  Case  of  Connecticut.  —  Before  1639,  several 
towns  were  planted  on  the  Connecticut  River.  They 
were  each  in  the  possession  of  the  powers  common  to  a 
New  England  town.  To  supply  the  need  of  a  general 
government,  the  citizens  of  the  various  towns  met  and 
adopted  a  written  constitution,  giving  authority  for  a 


46      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

general  court,  or  legislative  assembly,  composed  of  rep- 
resentatives from  the  towns,  a  governor  and  a  council 
chosen  by  the  assembly,  and  all  officers  needful  for  a 
complete  government.  Before  this  government  was 
created,  the  towns  were  in  possession  of  all  the  powers 
which  they  chose  to  exercise.  But  in  creating  the  gen- 
eral government  they  became  subject  to  its  action.  The 
towns  were  still  permitted  to  exercise  a  wide  range  of 
powers,  but  it  was  possible  at  any  time  for  the  general 
government  to  withdraw  these  powers. 

The  United  States  and  Connecticut  Compared.  — 
The  action  of  the  people  of  the  towns  of  Connecticut 
in  1639,  is  similar  in  some  respects  to  the  action  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States  after  the  Revolutionary 
War.  In  each  case  the  people  felt  the  need  of  a  more 
general  government,  and  in  each  case  they  proceeded 
by  adopting  for  the  new  government  a  written  consti- 
tution. There  is  little  evidence  that  the  people  of 
Connecticut  feared  that  the  new  government  would 
take  from  the  towns  their  power  in  local  matters.  It 
probably  has  not  occurred  to  many  citizens  of  Con- 
necticut that  their  town  government  was  in  danger  be- 
cause the  state  legislature  had  power  to  destroy  it.  But 
it  did  occur  to  the  people  of  the  Thirteen  States  that  if 
they  set  up  over  them  a  general  government,  the  state 
governments  would  be  endangered.  To  guard  against 
this  danger,  the  plan  of  creating  a  general  government  of 
limited  delegated  powers  was  adopted,  and  of  expressly 
reserving  to  the  states  all  powers  not  delegated.  The 
integrity  of  the  states  is  still  further  guarded  by  the 
policy  of  executing  federal  laws  by  federal  officers,  and 
not  by  officers  of  the  states. 


COMPARISON   OF  GOVERNMENTS.  47 

State  and  Federal  Executives.  —  In  the  states 
where  there  is  a  highly  organized  system  of  local  gov- 
ernment, the  execution  of  the  greater  part  of  the  laws 
rests  not  with  the  governor  and  the  officers  appointed 
by  him,  but  with  county,  township,  town  and  city  offi- 
cers, elected  by  the  citizens  of  the  locality.  The  gov- 
ernor is  often  in  no  way  responsible  for  the  execution 
of  these  laws.  If  the  local  officers  neglect  or  refuse 
to  execute  them,  any  citizen  interested  may  bring  an 
action  in  the  proper  court  to  compel  them  to  do  so. 
There  is  therefore  a  marked  difference  between  the 
executive  department  of  the  federal  government  and 
the  corresponding  department  in  the  states.  The  Pres- 
ident and  the  men  whom  he  calls  to  his  aid  are  person- 
ally responsible  for  the  execution  of  federal  laws. 

City  and  Federal  Constitutions  Compared.  —  Cities 
have  constitutions  established  by  state  authority.  In 
a  large  city  there  is  a  legislative  body  with  a  wide 
range  of  powers.  There  is  a  city  executive,  of  which 
the  mayor  is  the  head,  and  city  courts  to  decide  cases 
arising  under  city  laws.  In  all  these  respects  the  con- 
stitution of  a  city  resembles  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  In  each  the  powers  of  the  legislature 
are  conferred  by  a  written  constitution.  In  each  case 
there  is  an  executive  to  enforce  the  laws,  and  a  court  to 
interpret  and  apply  them.  But  there  is  this  remarkable 
difference  between  a  city  constitution  and  the  federal 
Constitution :  there  is  an  appeal  from  the  decisions  of 
the  city  courts  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state  on  all 
questions  involving  the  interpretation  of  the  city  con- 
stitution. This  interprets  the  grant  of  powers  accord- 
ing to  the  strict  letter  of  the  grant :  implied  powers  are 


48      ORIGIN  OF  OUR  GOVERNMENTAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

not  admitted.  But  in  cases  involving  the  interpretation 
of  the  federal  Constitution,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  is  itself  the  court  of  final  appeal ;  and  the 
Supreme  Court  has  interpreted  the  grant  of  powers  to 
Congress  not  strictly  but  liberally.  Congress  is  per- 
mitted to  exercise  a  large  number  of  powers  not  granted 
by  the  letter  of  the  Constitution,  but  held  to  be  implied 
in  those  which  are  granted.  The  Constitution  does  not 
say  that  Congress  shall  have  power  to  regulate  railways, 
but  it  does  say  that  Congress  shall  have  power  to  regu- 
late commerce  between  the  states,  and  railways  are  an 
agency  of  inter-state  commerce. 

Catechism.  —  The  following  questions  and  answers 
should  be  thoroughly  committed  to  memory. 

Question.  What  powers  may  be  exercised  by  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  ? 

Answer.  All  powers  granted  to  it  by  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States. 

Q.  What  powers  may  a  state  government  exercise  ? 

A.  "The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States 
by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  states, 
are  reserved  to  the  states  respectively  or  to  the  people." 1 

In  briefer  form: 

Q.    What  may  the  federal  government  do  ? 

A.  It  may  exercise  any  power  granted  to  it  by  the 
Constitution. 

Q.   What  may  a  state  do  ? 

A.  It  may  exercise  any  power  not  in  conflict  with  the 
Constitution,  laws,  and  treaties  of  the  United  States. 

The  principle  should  be  made  clear  that  the  United 

1  Amendments,  Art.  X. 


COMPARISON   OF  GOVERNMENTS.  49 

States  government  is  one  of  granted  or  conferred 
powers ;  while  the  states  are  governments  of  powers  not 
conferred.  The  eighth  section  of  the  first  article  of  the 
federal  Constitution  contains  a  list  of  powers  conferred 
upon  Congress.  In  a  state  constitution  no  such  list  is 
to  be  found.  It  is  understood  that  a  state  may  exercise 
any  powers  not  in  conflict  with  the  federal  government. 

Q.  Just  what  are,  in  detail,  the  things  which  may  be 
done  by  the  federal  government  and  the  things  which 
the  state  may  do  ? 

This  question  does  not  admit  of  a  complete  answer. 
A  partial  answer  may  be  gained  by  learning  all  the 
things  that  the  two  governments  have  done  and  are  now 
doing.  No  one  can  say  what  powers  they  may  exercise 
in  the  future. 

Q.  How  may  the  federal  and  state  governments  be 
kept  in  harmonious  action  ? 

Here  again  is  a  question  which  does  not  admit  of  a 
complete  answer.  A  partial  answer  is  gained  by  learn- 
ing their  past  and  present  methods  of  action. 


PAET  II. 

MATTERS  CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

EDUCATION. 

Origin  of  Public  Schools.  —  The  Englishmen  who 
founded  colonies  in  America  were  accustomed  to  the 
support  of  the  church  by  taxation.  The  church  was  a 
part  of  the  government.  In  the  South  the  Church  of 
England  was  established.  In  New  England  each  town 
had  its  own  Independent,  or  Congregational  Church. 
The  town  chose  its  pastor  and  supported  him  by  tax- 
ation. In  some  cases  the  pastor  was  also  the  school 
teacher.  When  another  was  chosen  to  teach  the  town 
school,  he  was  employed  by  the  town.  In  the  course 
of  time,  through  the  multiplication  of  sects,  and  from 
other  causes,  the  church  became  disconnected  from  the 
government ;  but  the  work  of  -education  by  the  govern- 
ment was  still  continued. 

Extension  of  Public  Schools.  —  In  1787  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  passed  an  ordinance  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  territory  north  of  the  Ohio  River.  It  was 
enacted  that  schools  and  the  means  of  education  should 
forever  be  encouraged.  In  pursuance  of  this  policy, 
Congress  set  apart  the  sixteenth  section  in  each  town- 
60 


EDUCATION. 


51 


ship  for  the  support  of  public  schools.  The  proceeds  of 
the  sale  of  the  sixteenth  section  come  into  the  treasury 
of  the  state ;  and  the  state  is  thus  committed  to  a  pub- 
lic school  system.  In  this  way  education  by  the  state  was 
extended  to  the  West.  Since  the  abolition  of  slavery, 
the  Southern  States  have  adopted  a  public  school  system; 
and  the  education  of  youth  is  now  an  important  part  of 
the  work  of  every  state  in  the  Union. 

A  school,  from  its  very  nature,  is  a  local  institution.  A 
child  cannot  properly  be  required  to  walk  farther  than 
two  miles  to  school.  It  is  desirable  therefore  that  there 
should  be  a  school-house  within  two  miles  of  every  home. 

Geography  of  the  School  District.  —  In  the  country 

west  of  Pennsyl- .         

vania,  wherever 
the  rectangular 
survey  prevails, 
there  is  much 
regularity  in  the 
size  and  shape 
of  the  school  dis- 
trict. The  town- 
ship is  six  miles 
square.  It  is  cus- 
tomary to  locate 
a  public  highway 
on  each  section- 
line.  These  high- 

j-   -J     5.  -    • 

ways   divide  the 

township  into  little  squares  of  one  mile  each,  and.  it  is 
customary  to  locate  a  school-house  at  each  alternate 
cross-roads,  as  indicated  in  Fig.  1.  This  plan  gives  to 


52 


MATTERS   CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 


each  township  nine  school-houses  two  miles  apart.  A 
school  district  is  thus  made  two  miles  square,  with  a 
school-house  in  the  centre.  But  this  is  an  unfavorable 
shape.  Those  who  live  at  the  corners  of  the  district 
are  two  miles  from  school.  A  more  convenient  method 
of  forming  districts,  partially  followed  in  some  places, 
is  indicated  in  Fig.  2.  By  this  plan  a  district  is  formed, 


Fio.  2. 


containing  five  square  miles,  instead  of  four;  and  no 
one  who  lives  upon  a  public  highway  can  be  more  than 
a  mile  and  a  half  from  school.  According  to  this  plan 
the  children  living  on  the  same  highway  go  to  the  same 
school ;  while  on  the  other  plan,  they  often  go  to  differ- 
ent schools.  But  the  plan  makes  it  necessary  to  dis- 
regard the  rectangular  township  as  a  local  unit. 


EDUCATION.  53 

Area  for  School  Government.  —  The  word  district, 
as  used  in  the  previous  paragraph,  means  the  area  for 
a  country  school.  In  some  of  the  states,- this  is  made 
the  area  for  local  school  government,  but  in  other  states 
a  larger  area  is  taken.  The  laws  of  Georgia  make  each 
county  one  school  district  for  the  management  of 
schools.  Other  Southern  states,  deeming  a  county  too 
large,  have  created  townships  for  this  purpose.  In  the 
states  where  the  township  is  an  important  local  govern- 
ment these  are  made  by  law  school  districts.  It  will  be 
observed  that  there  are  two  distinct  uses  of  the  word 
district,  one  an  area  for  a  single  school  and  the  other  an 
area  for  school  government.  In  nearly  all  cases  towns 
and  cities  have  a  school  government  entirely  separate 
from  the  country  schools. 

Forms  of  Government.  —  A  variety  of  systems  is 
used  in  the  management  of  school  districts.  1.  The 
district  system,  in  which  the  business  is  in  the  hands 
of  officers  chosen  by  the  district  area  for  one  school. 
2.  The  township  system,  in  which  officers  chosen  by  the 
township  have  full  control  of  all  the  schools  in  the 
township.  3.  The  mixed  district-township  system  in 
which  the  business  is  divided  between  officers  chosen 
by  the  smaller  and  those  chosen  by  the  larger  area. 

Whatever  may  be  the  form  of  a  local  school  gov- 
ernment, the  work  to  be  done  is  nearly  the  same  in 
all.  In  the  first  place,  the  limits  of  the  district,  if 
not  previously  fixed  by  state  law,  are  determined  by 
the  people  in  the  locality  or  by  local  officers.  The 
school-house  is  then  located  by  vote  of  the  citizens,  or 
by  the  school  officers.  A  tax  for  building  is  voted  by 
the  board  or  the  citizens ;  and  the  house  is  erected 


54  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

under  the  supervision  of  the  school  officers.  The  local 
school  officers  fix  the  rate  of  wages  for  teachers,  and 
the  time  during  which  the  school  shall  be  taught.  They 
employ  teachers,  co-operate  in  governing  the  school, 
supply  fuel  and  apparatus,  and  in  some  places  furnish 
the  scholars  with  text-books.  Some  states  make  it  the 
duty  of  school  officers  to  compel  the  attendance  of  all 
children  for  a  specified  time. 

School-District  Officers.  —  Officers  of  the  school  dis- 
trict in  the  various  states  receive  the  name  of  school 
committee,  school  board,  trustees,  supervisors,  or  direc- 
tors. Sometimes  the  business  is  committed  to  a  single 
officer;  more  frequently  to  a  board  of  three  or  more. 
The  board  organizes  for  the  transaction  of  business,  by 
choosing  a  president  and  a  secretary.  In  states  where 
the  school  funds  are  not  held  by  township  or  county 
officers,  there  is  a  school  treasurer. 

Support  of  Schools.  —  Schools  are  supported  either 
by  a  state  fund  or  by  a  local  tax.  Many  of  the  states 
have  a  fund  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  lands  given  to 
the  state  for  that  purpose  by  the  United  States  govern- 
ment. This  fund  is  kept  by  many  states  as  a  permanent 
school  fund,  the  interest  on  which  is  distributed  to  the 
school  districts,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  persons 
of  the  proper  age  to  attend  school.  Each  district  uses 
its  share  towards  the  payment  of  school  expenses.  A 
tax  to  supplement  it  when  necessary  is  voted  in  some 
of  the  states  by  the  legislature,  elsewhere  by  the  school 
district. 

Teachers'  Certificates.  —  One  of  the  difficult  tasks 
in  the  work  of  education  is  the  securing  of  suitable 
teachers.  It  is  found  desirable  to  make  a  law  forbid- 


EDUCATION.  55 

ding  any  one  to  teach  in  the  public  schools  unless  he 
has  been  examined  by  responsible  officers,  and  has 
received  from  them  a  certificate  of  fitness  for  his  duties. 
In  some  cases  the  examiners  are  the  local  school  board. 
In  other  states  there  is  a  county  educational  board, 
which  examines  teachers  and  attends  to  other  matters 
of  general  interest  to  the  schools  of  the  county.  In  still 
others,  a  single  county  officer  attends  to  this  business. 
Teachers'  certificates  are  generally  issued  for  a  short 
time,  one  year  or  less.  In  some  states  the  officers  are 
empowered  to  issue  certificates  for  a  longer  period. 

City  Superintendent.  —  In  the  large  towns  and  cities 
it  is  found  desirable  to  grade  the  schools  and  adopt  a 
regular  system  of  promotion  from  one  grade  to  another. 
To  provide  for  this  work,  it  is  convenient  to  place  the 
entire  oversight  of  the  schools  in  the  hands  of  one  per- 
son. In  many  cases  the  city  superintendent  devotes 
his  entire  time  to  grading  the  schools,  planning  work 
for  the  teachers,  and  finding  and  introducing  the  best 
methods.  By  the  continued  services  of  skilled  superin- 
tendents, many  of  the  city  schools  have  reached  a  high 
degree  of  excellence,  not  attainable  without  such  super- 
vision. 

County  Superintendent.  —  In  country  schools  the 
need  of  superintendence  is  not  so  apparent  as  in  cities. 
Confusion  does  often  arise  for  want  of  it,  but  it  is  not 
so  manifest  as  in  a  city.  The  schools  are  isolated.  One 
district  may  have  a  good  teacher,  and  make  rapid  ad- 
vancement, while  the  next  district  may  make  little 
advancement.  A  new  teacher,  not  knowing  what  has 
been  taught,  may  go  over  the  same  ground,  with  little 
profit  to  the  student.  These  things  would  not  happen 


56  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

under  a  skilled  and  faithful  superintendent.  To  supply 
this  need,  many  states  have  provided  for  a  county  super- 
intendent, whose  duty  it  is  to  examine  teachers  and 
issue  certificates,  to  hold  institutes  for  the  instruction  of 
teachers,  to  visit  country  schools,  and  to  advise  teachers 
in  their  work. 

State  Superintendent.  —  In  nearly  all  the  states 
there  is  a  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  who  has 
general  oversight  of  the  educational  work  of  the  entire 
state.  One  part  of  the  duty  of  the  state  superintend- 
ent is  to  collect  official  information  concerning  the  con- 
dition of  the  schools  throughout  the  state.  The  officers 
of  school  districts  are  required  by  law  to  make  out 
reports  of  their  schools,  and  send  them  to  the  county 
superintendent.  The  county  superintendent  collects  re- 
ports from  all  the  districts  in  the  county.  From  these 
he  makes  out  a  report  to  the  state  superintendent.  In 
this  way  the  superintendent  is  informed  of  the  condition 
of  schools  in  all  parts  of  the  state.  He  makes  a  printed 
report  to  the  legislature,  by  which  the  law-makers  may 
be  informed  of  the  needs  of  the  schools.  It  is  also  the 
duty  of  the  superintendent  to  suggest  to  the  legislature 
ways  of  improving  the  school  laws  of  the  state. 

Judicial  Business  of  the  Superintendent.  —  The 
superintendent  gives  directions  to  local  officers  in  refer- 
ence to  the  administration  of  the  school  laws.  Many  dis- 
putes arise  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  law  and  its  applica- 
tion to  special  cases.  These  sometimes  occasion  suits 
in  the  ordinary  courts  of  law.  In  some  of  the  states 
provision  is  made  for  the  settlement  of  these  disputes 
by  the  aggrieved  parties  appealing  from  the  decision  of 
the  local  board  to  the  county  superintendent.  In  case 


EDUCATION.  57 

his  decision  is  not  satisfactory,  an  appeal  may  be  made 
to  the  state  superintendent.  In  this  way  difficult  points 
in  the  administration  of  the  school  law  are  settled  with 
little  expense  to  the  parties  interested.  In  many  in- 
stances difficulties  are  avoided  by  the  superintendent's 
publishing  in  advance  what  would  be  the  application  of 
the  law  to  particular  cases. 

Township,  County,  and  Normal  Schools.  —  In  some 
states  the  country  school  districts  are  authorized  to 
unite  and  establish  a  central  school  of  a  higher  grade, 
to  which  the  more  advanced  students  may  be  sent.  In 
some  counties  a  high  school  is  maintained  under  the 
management  of  a  county  board.  For  the  education  of 
teachers,  many  states  have  established  normal  schools. 
These  are  usually  controlled  by  a  board  appointed  by 
the  legislature,  which  also  appropriates  money  for  their 
support. 

State  Universities .  and  Agricultural  Colleges. — 
State  Universities  are  maintained  in  many  of  the  states. 
In  most  Western  states  these  were  founded  by  a  grant 
of  land  for  that  purpose  from  the  United  States 
government.  They  'are  maintained  by  appropriations 
from  the  state  legislature,  and  are  governed  by  a  state 
board  of  regents.  For  the  encouragement  of  agriculture 
and  the  mechanic  arts,  Congress  gave  to  each,  of  the 
states,  in  1862,  a  grant  of  land,  the  proceeds  of  which 
are  invested  according  to  the  terms  of  the  grant,  and 
the  income  is  appropriated  to  meet  the  current  expenses 
of  a  college.  The  state  receiving  the  grant  is  required 
to  furnish  land  and  buildings  for  the  college,  and  to 
provide  for  its  government. 

A  large  part  of  the  work  of  higher  education  is  done 


58  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

by  endowed  institutions,  colleges,  universities,  and  pro- 
fessional schools,  without  any  help  from  the  state. 
Likewise  much  common-school  work  is  done  by  private 
enterprise,  without  aid  from  government. 

Educational  Work  of  the  Federal  Government.  — 
The  United  States  government  maintains  an  Academy 
at  West  Point,  for  the  education  of  army  officers ; 
another  at  Annapolis,  to  educate  officers  for  the  navy ; 
and  a  college  for  deaf-mutes  at  Washington.  A  school 
for  instruction  in  the  Signal  Service  is  maintained  at 
Fort  Whipple,  Va.  Common  schools  are  also  supported 
at  the  various  military  posts  of  the  United  States. 
Congress  appropriates  money  for  the  education  of  Ind- 
ians. In  1867,  Congress  established  a  Bureau  of  Edu- 
cation, to  collect  and  publish  educational  statistics  and 
other  information  for  the  benefit  of  educators  through- 
out the  land. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  work  of  public  education 
furnishes  an  illustration  of  the  uses  of  nearly  all  our 
governmental  institutions.  1.  The  school  district  for 
one  country  school  is  sometimes  organized  into  a  local 
school  government.  2.  The  township  is  generally  a 
school-board  area.  3.  Towns  and  cities  are  made  areas 
for  educational  work  corresponding  to  the  work  done 
in  district,  township,  and  county  for  the  country  schools. 
4.  The  county  is  found  to  be  a  convenient  area  for  the 
supervision  of  the  country  schools.  5.  The  state  is  the 
source  of  law  and  authority  for  the  public  school 
system.  The  state  also  maintains  an  office  for  the  gen- 
eral supervision  of  the  schools,  and  it  supports  a  few 
educational  institutions  of  a  higher  grade.  6.  The 
United  States  maintains  an  office  for  the  collection  and 


EDUCATION.  59 

publication  of  educational  statistics,  and  supports  a  few 
schools  for  special  purposes. 

Public  Schools  and  the  Constitution.  —  To  provide 
for  the  education  of  the  people  is  not  found  among  the 
powers  conferred  upon  the  federal  government;  it  is 
therefore  reserved  to  the  states.  If  the  states  should 
not  choose  to  establish  public  schools  they  would  not 
be  established.  The  Constitution  does,  however,  give 
to  Congress  power  to  dispose  of  "territory  and  other 
property  belonging  to  the  United  States." 1  Congress 
has  chosen  to  dispose  of  the  public  lands  in  such  a 
way  as  to  induce  the  states  to  maintain  a  system  of 
public  schools.  The  people  in  many  of  the  states,  in 
forming  a  state  constitution,  have  made  it  the  duty  of 
the  legislature  to  maintain  public  schools. 

The  state  government  has  full  power  to  force  the 
townships  and  counties  to  provide  for  schools.  If  local 
officers  should  refuse  to  vote  a  school  tax  required  by 
law,  they  might  be  arraigned  before  a  court  and  com- 
manded to  do  it.  If  they  still  refused,  they  might  be 
imprisoned  for  contempt  of  court.  But  the  method 
which  many  states  employ  to  induce  delinquent  dis- 
tricts to  maintain  schools  is  quite  similar  to  the  method 
used  by  the  federal  government  to  induce  the  states  to 
do  so.  They  give  money  to  the  districts  which  comply 
with  the  law  requiring  schools  to  be  kept  a  prescribed 
number  of  weeks,  and  withhold  it  from  districts  not 
complying.  This  inducement  is  greatest  in  the  states 
where  a  tax  large  enough  to  support  the  schools 
throughout  the  state  is  levied  by  the  state  legislature. 
In  such  a  case  an  average  district  would  be  compelled 

1  Art.  IV,  sec.  3,  cl.  2. 


60  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

to  pay  money  enough  into  the  state  treasury  to  support 
its  schools  during  the  required  term,  and  would  get 
nothing  in  return  unless  it  complied  with  the  law. 
Some  of  the  states  have  succeeded  in  rapidly  extend- 
ing the  schools  to  all  the  districts,  by  a  free  use  of  the 
taxing  power  of  the  legislature.  Others  have  been 
equally  successful  while  pursuing  an  opposite  policy, 
giving  to  districts  power  to  vote  taxes  upon  them- 
selves and  maintain  their  own  schools. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HIGHWAYS. 

Highways     and     the     Federal     Government.  —  A 

clause  in  the  Constitution  gives  to  Congress  power 
uto  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads."1  Congress  has 
often  appropriated  money  for  the  building  of  bridges ; 
and  at  one  time  the  general  government  constructed  a 
national  road.  But  the  development  of  the  railroad 
system  has  had  a  great  effect  upon  the  relation  of  the 
general  government  to  road  building.  Railroads  take 
the  place  which  would  have  been  held  by  national 
roads. 

Areas  for  Koad  Management.  —  Railroads  have 
also  affected  road  management  within  the  states. 
There  are  almost  no  state  officers  having  any  share  in 
road  management ;  the  business  is  committed  to  coun- 
ties, townships,  towns  and  cities.  In  some  states  town- 
ships are  subdivided  into  road  districts.  The  county  is 
1  Art.  I,  sec.  8,  cl.  7. 


HIGHWAYS.  61 

the  division  to  which  is  commonly  assigned  the  care  of 
roads  in  the  states  where  the  county  system  of  local 
government  prevails,  the  township  where  there  is  the 
township  system ;  while  in  the  states  having  the  mixed 
county-township  system  the  business  is  divided  between 
the  two. 

Road  Building-.  —  Road  work  consists  in  locating, 
draining,  and  grading  the  road,  removing  obstructions 
from  it,  building  bridges  and  culverts,  and  providing  a 
dry,  hard  surface  for  travel.  Throughout  the  greater 
part  of  the  United  States  the  surface  of  the  roads  is 
composed  of  the  natural  soil.  This  is  often  muddy 
when  wet,  dusty  when  dry,  and  rough  in  cold  weather. 
To  remove  these  imperfections  various  methods  of  road- 
building  have  been  devised.  The  most  noted  of  these 
is  the  one  invented  by  Mr.  J.  L.  Macadam  of  Scotland, 
about  a  hundred  years  ago.  To  macadamize  a  road  is 
to  cover  the  natural  soil  to  the  depth  of  from  six  to 
ten  inches  with  irregular  fragments  of  granite  or  other 
stone,  not  over  three  inches  in  diameter. 

Highway  Officers.  —  For  the  making  and  repairing 
of  roads,  the  territory  is  usually  divided,  by  law  or 
by  the  authorities  of  either  the  county  or  the  township, 
into  road  districts,  in  each  of  which  a  road  master  has 
immediate  charge.  In  many  states  the  duty  of  locat- 
ing roads,  building  bridges,  and  general  supervision  is 
vested  in  the  county  board,  which  is  also  empowered 
in  a  few  states  to  employ  a  skilled  engineer  to  aid  in 
the  work. 

Toll  Roads.  —  All  of  the  states  and  territories  except 
ten  l  authorize  the  building  of  roads  by  companies,  or 
1  J.  W.  Jenks,  Vol.  IV,  No.  3,  Pub.  Am.  Econ.  Ass'n. 


02  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

•^ 

corporations,  which  are  allowed  to  repay  themselves 
by  collecting  tolls  from  those  who  use  the  road.  The 
toll  charges  are  regulated  by  law.  This  system  is  gen- 
erally condemned,  and  many  states  have  made  pro- 
visions for  changing  the  toll  roads  into  free  public 
roads. 

Road  Taxes.  —  It  is  unusual  for  the  state  legislature 
to  appropriate  money  for  the  building  of  roads.  The 
power  to  do  this  is  committed  to  the  county  board,  or 
to  the  township,  either  in  town  meeting,  or  through  a 
representative  board,  or  partly  to  the  county  and  partly 
to  the  township.  In  nearly  all  the  states  provision  is 
made  for  the  payment  of  a  part  or  all  of  the  road  tax  in 
labor. 

Those  who  have  given  special  attention  to  this  ques- 
tion are  of  the  opinion  that  a  large  proportion  of  the 
expenditures  upon  the  highways  is  wasted.  To  expend 
time  and  money  economically  upon  the  roads  requires  a 
high  degree  of  engineering  skill.  To  prevent  waste, 
the  policy  of  employing  a  skilled  county  engineer  to 
superintend  the  business  seems  worthy  of  special  com- 
mendation. Official  supervision  has  been  so  effective 
in  improving  the  methods  of  public  education  that  a 
similar  system  seems  well  suited  to  the  improvement  of 
road  building.  This  plan  would  require,  in  addition  to 
county  engineers,  a  state  engineer,  who  should  receive 
reports  from  the  county  engineers  and  co-operate  with 
them  in  the  effort  to  find  out  and  apply  the  most 
approved  methods  in  each  locality  in  the  state. 

Division  of  Labor  between  Township  and  County. 
—  A  bridge  may  be  so  situated  as  to  be  used  chiefly 
by  people  of  other  townships.  In  such  a  case  it  would 


HIGHWAYS.  63 

be  unjust  to  put  the  whole  burden  on  the  township  in 
which  it  is  located.  In  some  of  the  states  the  county 
board  builds  all  bridges,  while  the  township  makes  the 
culverts  and  repairs  the  roads  and  bridges.  Roads  are 
sometimes  divided  into  two  classes :  main,  or  county 
roads,  and  township  roads.  One  class  is  kept  up  at 
county  expense,  and  the  other  at  the  expense  of  the 
township.  It  is  often  difficult  to  determine  what  share 
of  the  cost  of  maintaining  a  particular  road  should  be 
borne  by  the  township  and  the  county  respectively.  The 
New  York  plan  of  county  and  township  government,  in 
which  the  county  board  is  composed  of  township  super- 
visors, is  well  adapted  to  adjust  the  burdens  of  the  two. 
Canals  and  Railroads.  —  Before  the  building  of  rail- 
roads, many  of  the  states  undertook  to  construct  canals. 
The  state  of  New  York  still  owns  several  canals,  and 
some  other  states  are  part  owners  of  canals.  The 
building  of  railroads  has  often  been  aided  by  appropria- 
tions from  states,  counties,  and  townships.  The  money 
thus  appropriated  has  usually  gone  to  a  company,  and 
the  government  has  acquired  110  share  in  the  profits  of 
the  road.  The  fact  that  the  power  to  grant  money  to 
railroad  corporations  has  been  often  abused,  has  led  the 
people  of  many  of  the  states  to  insert  in  the  state  con- 
stitution a  clause,  withdrawing  from  the  legislature 
and  from  the  counties,  townships,  towns,  and  cities  the 
power  to  make  such  grants. 


64  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

CHAPTER  X. 

CARE  OF  THE  POOR  AND  OTHER  UNFORTUNATE  CLASSES. 

Efforts  to  limit  Pauperism.  —  The  states  proceed 
upon  the  assumption  that  every  person  will  support 
himself  if  he  is  able  to  do  so.  If  a  person  is  not  able 
to  support  himself,  our  state  laws  require  his  kinsfolk, 
within  specified  limits,  to  support  him.  In  case  there 
are  no  kinsfolk  able  to  support  him,  the  law  imposes 
the  duty  on  the  township,  the  county,  or  the  town  or 
city  in  which  he  has  a  lawful  residence.  States  try  to 
protect  themselves  from  the  burden  of  pauper  relief  by 
fining  persons  for  bringing  paupers  into  the  state,  and 
by  sending  from  the  state  paupers  who  have  not  gained 
a  legal  residence.  A  township  or  a  county  may  return 
to  the  township  or  the  county  from  which  he  has  come 
any  pauper  who  has  not  gained  a  residence.  It  is  the 
policy  of  governments  to  have  poor  persons  supported 
by  the  community  where  they  were  living  when  their 
disability  arose,  and  where,  consequently,  all  the  facts 
in  the  case  are  best  known. 

Support  by  Townships.  —  In  many  of  the  states  the 
care  of  the  poor  is  made,  entirely  or  in  part,  the  duty 
of  the  town  or  township  government.  Where  the 
township  has  the  entire  care,  it  is  customary  to  employ 
some  responsible  person  to  keep  the  poor.  Overseers  are 
chosen,  whose  duty  it  is  to  see  that  the  laws  concern: 
ing  the  poor  are  properly  executed.  When  persons  are 
in  need  of  temporary  aid,  the  officers  furnish  it,  and 
encourage  them  to  help  themselves,  and  not  to  become  a 


CARE  OF  THE  POOR.  65 

permanent  burden  upon  the  government ;  this  is  called 
out-door  relief.  If  it  is  found  that  the  government  is 
required  to  provide  a  large  part  of  the  support  of  indi- 
viduals, they  may  be  deprived  of  their  liberty  of  action, 
and  pass  entirely  under  the  control  of  the  superintendent 
of  the  poor. 

Poor-Houses.  —  It  is  often  difficult  and  expensive  to 
employ  persons  who  have  suitable  homes  to  take  care 
of  the  poor.  To  avoid  this  difficulty,  the  government 
has  in  many  cases  adopted  the  policy  of  owning  a  farm 
and  buildings  upon  it  for  the  care  of  the  poor.  A 
superintendent  is  then  chosen  to  take  charge  of  the 
house  and  farm,  and  support  the  poor  according  to  the 
rules  and  regulations  of  the  government.  Paupers  who 
are  able  are  expected  to  work  on  the  farm  or  in  the 
house,  and  thus  diminish  the  expense  of  their  support. 
This  is  called  in-door  relief. 

Support  by  Counties.  —  In  case  the  government  es- 
tablishes a  poor-farm,  it  may  be  cheaper  and  more  satis- 
factory to  do  this  on  a  larger  *ale  than  can  be  afforded 
by  a  township.  The  business  then  passes  into  the  hands 
of  the  county,  which  maintains  the  house  and  farm, 
while  the  county  officers  make  its  rules  and  regulations 
and  choose  the  superintendent.  The  township  may  still 
be  required  to  furnish  temporary  relief  to  the  needy, 
and  to  pay  the  county  for  the  support  of  each  person 
sent  from  that  township  to  the  county  poor-house,  thus 
retaining  the  chief  burden  of  supporting  the  poor.  In 
other  states  the  county  has  the  entire  burden,  and 
county  officers  furnish  the  entire  relief,  both  in  and  out 
of  the  county-house. 

Difficulties.  —  The  help  of  the  poor  by  the  govern- 


66  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

ment  seems  to  b.e  a  simple  matter,  but  it  is  believed  by 
those  who  have  given  the  subject  most  attention  that 
there  are  few  things  which  the  government  is  called 
upon  to  do  that  involve  greater  difficulties.  Methods 
of  relief  have  been  adopted  which  are  believed  to  have 
been  potent  causes  of  disaster  and  ruin.  A  government 
cannot  safely  assume  the  support  of  persons  who  can 
be  taught  to  support  themselves.  It  is  better  for  the 
government  to  use  means  to  prevent  poverty.  In  the 
care  of  the  poor,  as  in  education  and  in  road-building, 
it  is  economy,  in  the  end,  for  the  government  to  adopt 
the  most  approved  methods,  and  to  seek  to  know  what 
is  best  before  making  lavish  expenditures. 

The  Insane.  —  Besides  the  poor,  there  are  other 
unfortunate  classes  for  whom  the  government  makes 
provision.  Insane  persons  require  special  treatment 
which  it  is  often  impossible  for  private  individuals  to 
provide.  The  care  and  treatment  of  the  insane  can 
therefore  be  best  secured  in  homes  provided  exclusively 
for  them,  and  under  the  charge  of  persons  especially 
skilled  in  the  treatment  of  nervous  diseases.  Private 
hospitals  are  sometimes  established  to  which  persons 
who  are  able  to  incur  the  expense  send  their  insane 
friends.  But,  since  many  are  not  able  to  meet  this  ex- 
pense, it  becomes  necessary  for  the  government  to  make 
provision  for  them.  There  •  are  but  few  insane  persons 
in  a  township,  and  comparatively  few  in  a  county ;  but 
there  are  many  in  a  state.  It  is  found  to  be  more  eco- 
nomical, therefore,  for  the  state  to  provide  the  institu- 
tions necessary  for  their  treatment.  In  some  of  the 
states  the  counties  pay  to  the  state  a  fixed  sum  for  the 
support  of  their  insane  in  the  asylum.  Many  insane 


CARE  OF  THE  POOR.  67 

persons  are  kept  in  county-houses.  These  are,  for  the 
most  part,  cases  which  have  been  pronounced  incurable. 
A  charge  for  the  support  of  a  patient  is  sometimes 
collected  from  relatives  if  they  are  able  to  pay  it. 

The  Education  of  Unfortunates.  —  Some  states  main- 
tain special  educational  institutions  for  orphan  children, 
for  feeble-minded  children,  for  the  blind,  and  for  deaf- 
mutes.  Special  provision  is  also  now  made  in  many  of 
the  states  for  juvenile  criminals.  These  are  on  the 
border  land  between  unfortunates  and  criminals,  and 
are  treated  by  the  state  as  persons  to  be  specially 
educated,  corrected,  and  reformed.  For  this  purpose, 
reform  schools  are  established  and  maintained. 

All  these  institutions  are  controlled  by  boards  chosen 
by  state  authorities,  and  are  supported  by  money  appro- 
priated by  the  state  legislature,  which  makes  all  needful 
rules  and  regulations  for  their  management.  In  some 
of  the  states  a  Board  of  Charities  exercises  general 
supervision  over  prisons  and  all  institutions  for  the 
unfortunates. 

Federal  Relief. — The  government  of  the  United 
States  maintains  homes  and  hospitals  for  disabled  sol- 
diers and  seamen,  and  an  asylum  for  insane  soldiers  and 
for  the  insane  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Thus  the  relief  of  the  poor  and  the  unfortunate  is 
chiefly  in  the  hands  of  city,  township,  and  county 
governments.  The  state  provides  for  special  classes, 
whose  numbers  are  small,  and  the  United  States  pro- 
vides for  some  of  those  in  its  own  service,  and  for  some 
who  are  engaged  in  commerce  upon  the  high  seas. 


68  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

CHAPTER  XL 

TAXATION. 

Need  of  Revenue.  —  The  United  States  government 
has  been  the  owner  of  most  of  the  lands  upon  which 
we  live.  These  have  been  sold,  or  have  been  given  to 
individuals  or  to  states.  The  land  given  to  states  is 
for  the  most  part  sold  by  the  state,  and  the  money  is 
put  into  a  permanent  fund  for  the  support  of  com- 
mon schools  or  other  educational  institutions.  With 
the  exception  of  the  amount  derived  from  the  sale  of 
public  lands,- the  money  which  the  government  receives 
must  be  collected  from  the  people.  The  government 
engages  in  no  productive  business  ;  it  makes  no  money. 
And  since  the  work  of  education,  the  building  of  roads, 
provision  for  unfortunate  classes,  the  administration  of 
justice,  the  support  of  armies  and  navies,  and  the  many 
other  things  which  the  government  is  called  upon  to  do, 
make  a  constant  demand  for  a  large  amount  of  money 
or  of  property,  it  follows  that  an  important  part  of  the 
business  of  government  is  to  collect  taxes,  to  provide 
for  the  safe  keeping  of  the  money  thus  secured,  and  to 
expend  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  secure  the  objects  for 
which  it  was  collected. 

The  State  System.  —  The  greater  part  of  the  tax 
collected  by  the  authority  of  the  state  is  levied  directly 
upon  individuals  and  upon  property.  Some  states  levy 
a  tax  upon  all  voters,  or  upon  all  able-bodied  men  of  a 
given  age.  This  is  called  a  poll  tax,  and  is  sometimes 
collected  by  requiring  the  person  taxed  to  work  upon 


TAXATION.  69 

the  public  highways.  The  tax  levied  upon  property  is, 
however,  the  one  chiefly  relied  upon  for  the  support  of 
state  governments. 

Valuation  of  Property.  —  To  collect  a  property  tax 
there  must  first  bs  a  valuation  of  the  property.  The 
following  system  prevails  in  many  states :  Towns,  town- 
ships, and  cities  choose  assessors,  who  make  a  list  of 
all  taxpayers  and  all  taxable  property  within  their 
respective  localities.  The  assessors  are  required  to  affix 
the  true  value  to  all  the  property  in  the  list.  The  value 
actually  affixed  to  property  in  the  assessors'  list  is  gen- 
erally less  than  the  real  value.  It  makes  no  difference 
in  the  result;  since,  if  the  sum  which  stands  for  the 
value  of  the  property  be  small,  a  proportionally  higher 
rate  is  paid.  The  point  of  especial  consequence  in  the 
valuation  is  that  no  taxpayer's  property  be  rated  either 
higher  or  lower  than  that  of  others. 

Boards  of  Equalization.  —  To  correct  errors,  the 
assessors'  list  passes  into  the  hands  of  a  local  represen- 
tative board,  and  errors  and  inequalities  are  corrected. 
If  all  the  property  within  the  township  is  proportionally 
valued,  it  makes  a  just  list  for  the  collection  of  the  town- 
ship tax.  But  for  the  collection  of  a  county  tax,  where 
the  township  is  associated  with  other  towns,  the  lists  are 
not  just  unless  all  the  towns  are  rated  on  a  uniform 
valuation.  To  equalize  the  assessments  of  the  different 
municipalities  within  the  county,  a  county  board  re- 
ceives a  copy  of  each  of  the  assessors'  lists,  compares 
them,  and  makes  such  changes  as  justice  seems  to 
demand.  A  state  board  of  equalization  then  receives 
the  lists  from  all  the  counties,  and  corrects  inequalities 
between  the  different  sections. 


70  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

Levying  of  Taxes.  —  When  the  taxable  property  is 
legally  valued,  the  various  governments  within  the  state 
can  determine  their  rate  of  taxation.  1.  A  representa- 
tive school  board,  or  a  meeting  of  the  voters  in  the  school 
district,  determines  the  amount  of  tax  to  be  raised  in 
the  district  for  school  purposes,  and  the  rate  of  the 
school  tax.  2.  The  citizens  in  town  meeting,  or  through 
a  township  board,  vote  a  tax  for  road  purposes  and 
for  other  needs  of  the  township.  3.  For  incorporated 
towns  and  cities,  the  town  or  city  council  fixes  a  tax. 
4.  A  county  board  estimates  the  expense  of  the  county 
government,  and  levies  a  corresponding  tax  upon  the 
county.  5.  The  state  legislature  determines  the 
amount  of  money  necessary  for  the  payment  of  state 
officers  and  the  support  of  the  state  institutions,  and 
other  objects,  and  prescribes  the  tax  to  be  paid  into  the 
state  treasury. 

Tax  Collectors.  —  In  some  states  the  township  is  the 
chief  tax-collecting  agency ;  in  others  the  county  is  the 
chief  agency.  Where  the  county  system  prevails,  a 
county  officer  takes  the  assessors'  lists  of  the  entire 
county  after  they  have  been  corrected  by  the  various 
boards,  and  also  an  official  statement  of  all  the  taxes 
voted  by  the  different  governments  within  the  state, 
and  from  these  he  estimates  the  amount  of  tax  to  be 
paid  by  each  taxpayer  in  the  county.  The  book  con- 
taining these  estimates  passes  into  the  hands  of  the 
county  treasurer.  The  law  fixes  the  time  of  payment. 
If  the  tax  is  not  paid  before  the  specified  time,  a  fine  or 
penalty  is  added.  If  the  tax  is  still  unpaid  after  a 
further  specified  time,  the  property  is  sold  at  public 
auction.  The  government  thus  collects  enough  money 


TAXATION.  71 

to  pay  the  tax  and  all  the  expenses  incurred  in  the  sale, 
and  gives  to  the  purchaser  a  tax-title  to  the  property. 
The  tax-title  becomes  a  more  perfect  title  if  within  a 
time  specified  by  law  the  former  owner  of  the  property 
does  not  redeem  it  by  paying  all  costs. 

Treasurer  and  Auditor.  —  The  money  thus  collected 
by  the  county  treasurer  is  for  the  support  of  school 
districts,  townships,  incorporated  towns  and  cities,  the 
county,  and  the  state.  The  county  treasurer  must  open 
an  account  with  an  officer  in  each  of  these  govern- 
ments, and  see  that  the  money  collected  for  each  goes 
to  its  proper  place.  The  treasurer  is  required  to  give  a 
bond,  and  another  county  officer  or  auditing  board  is 
required  to  keep  a  strict  account  of  all  the  money  paid 
into  or  out  of  the  county  treasury.  The  treasurer  pays 
out  no  money  save  as  he  is  ordered  to  do  so  by  the 
auditing  officer;  and  the  treasurer's  account  should 
correspond  with  that  of  the  auditor. 

Licenses,  Fines,  Etc.  —  Besides  the  general  tax  upon 
property,  taxes  are  collected  in  incorporated  towns  and 
cities  upon  houses  and  lots,  for  the  improvement  of 
adjoining  streets.  Other  taxes  are  collected  under  the 
name  of  licenses  for  certain  kinds  of  business,  such  as 
the  selling  of  intoxicating  drinks.  The  government 
also  receives  some  money  from  fines  and  forfeitures. 
All  of  these  sources  of  income  amount  to  but  little  in 
comparison  with  the  general  tax  upon  property. 

Exemptions.  —  In  the  general  property  tax  some 
forms  of  property  are  exempted  from  taxation.  The 
assessor  makes  a  list  of  the  taxable  property  only. 
States  generally  exempt  a  portion  of  the  personal 
property,  including  the  tools  and  utensils  of  laborers. 


72  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

Churches,  parsonages,  institutions  of  learning,  and 
various  charitable  institutions  are  in  most  states  ex- 
empt, on  the  ground  of  their  advantage  to  the  public. 
As  a  matter  of  experience,  the  greater  part  of  the  tax 
is  collected  from  real  estate. 

Reasons  for  not  taxing  Notes  and  Mortgages.  — 
Many  persons  who  have  given  the  subject  of  taxation 
most  careful  and  conscientious  study,  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  government  ought  to  exempt  from 
taxation  all  money,  notes,  mortgages,  bonds,  and  other 
forms  of  invisible  property.  Assessors  do  not  find  the 
invisible  property.  As  a  matter  of  fact  only  a  small 
part  is  taxed.  It  is  manifestly  unjust  to  tax  a  part  and 
allow  a  part  to  go  free.  The  loaning  of  money  is  done 
chiefly  in  towns  and  cities.  Taxes  in  cities  are  gener- 
ally high,  sometimes  four  or  five  per  cent.  The  man 
who  conceals  his  money  from  the  assessor  is  in  competi- 
tion with  the  honest  man,  who  reports  all  his  property. 
The  dishonest  money  leaner  has  then  an  advantage  of 
four  or  five  per  cent  over  all  others.  There  is  here  a 
bribe  of  four  or  five  per  cent  per  annum  upon  their 
capital  for  all  honest  money  loaners  to  become  dishon- 
est, or  to  sell  out  their  business  to  the  dishonest.  The 
government,  by  the  attempt  to  tax,  drives  the  business 
into  the  hands  of  those  who  conceal  their  property  from 
the  assessor.  The  government  gets  no  tax  ;  the  dishon- 
est money  loaner  gets  as  high  a  rate  of  interest  as  if 
paying  the  high  taxes,  while  the  borrower  pays  a  wholly 
gratuitous  bounty  to  the  dishonest  loaner.  Now,  if  the 
government  would  simply  cease  trying  to  tax  moneys  and 
credits,  the  honest  lender  and  the  dishonest  one  would 


TAXATION.  73 

be  placed  on  an  equality;  interest  would  be  lower;  the 
borrower  could  afford  to  build  more  houses  and  shops, 
and,  instead  of  rewarding  dishonesty  by  a  high  rate  of 
interest,  the  borrower  could  pay  a  tax  upon  the  visible 
property  which  a  low  rate  of  interest  had  enabled  him 
to  create. 

Bonds  should  not  be  taxed.  —  It  is  often  economi- 
cal, and  it  is  sometimes  necessary,  for  the  government 
to  have  the  use  of  more  money  than  can  be  collected  at 
once  by  taxation.  An  expensive  building  is  to  be  erected, 
or  a  war  is  to  be  waged.  In  such  cases  the  govern- 
ment borrows  money,  and  issues  its  notes,  or  bonds, 
promising  to  pay  at  some  time  in  the  future.  The 
government  has  no  more  power  in  the  borrowing  of 
money  than  an  individual.  In  some  respects  the  gov- 
ernment resembles  an  insolvent  borrower.  Some  men, 
who  cannot  be  compelled  to  pay  their  debts,  can,  never- 
theless, borrow  money  on  pretty  favorable  terms,  be- 
cause men  believe  that  they  will  pay.  The  government 
can  often  succeed  in  borrowing  on  favorable  terms,  be- 
cause men  believe  that  it  will  pay.  They  know  that,  in 
most  cases,  it  cannot  be  forced  to  pay.  For  a  govern- 
ment to  tax  its  own  notes  or  bonds  would  be  just  as 
irrational  as  it  would  be  for  an  insolvent  borrower  to 
publish  in  advance  that  he  would  only  pay  a  part  of 
the  interest  agreed  upon  in  his  contract.  Men  would 
either  not  loan  to  such  a  borrower  or  they  would  make 
the  interest  high  enough  to  cover  all  risks  of  non-pay- 
ment. If  a  government  were  expected  to  tax  its  bonds 
three  per  cent,  the  creditor  would  add  three  per  cent 
to  his  rate  of  interest,  and  there  would  be  no  relief  to 


74  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

other  taxpayers.  But  the  government,  in  order  to  bor- 
row on  most  favorable  terms,  is  often  compelled  to  place 
its  notes  in  the  hands  of  its  creditors,  and  permit  them 
to  be  bought  and  sold  like  merchandise.  The  attempt 
of  the  government  to  tax  these  bonds  drives  them  into 
the  hands  of  those  who  avoid  the  tax.  The  government 
gets  no  tax,  and  the  taxpayer  is  compelled  to  pay  a 
high  rate  of  interest,  which  benefits  no  one  save  the 
bond-holder.  It  is  clearly  the  best  policy  for  the  people 
to  have  it  thoroughly  understood  that  no  bond  issued 
by  federal  government,  state,  county,  city,  town,  town- 
ship, or  school  district,  shall,  under  any  circumstances, 
be  taxed  by  any  authority  in  the  nation.  In  this  way 
the  bond-holder  may  be  compelled,  through  a  low  rate 
of  interest,  to  share  the  burdens  of  government,  and 
the  taxpayer  is  relieved. 

Federal  Taxation.  —  The  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  forbids  the  states  to  derive  a  revenue  from  a  duty 
upon  goods  imported  or  exported.1  The  states  are,  for 
the  most  part,  restricted  to  the  method  of  supporting 
government  by  a  direct  tax  on  property.  A  direct 
property  tax  can  be  levied  by  the  federal  government 
also,  under  the  Constitution.  But  its  collection  would 
require  such  a  vast  army  of  officers,  some  of  them  in 
every  township  in  the  land,  that  the  system  is  not  likely 
ever  to  be  adopted.  Hence  the  federal  government  is 
practically  compelled  to  adopt  the  policy  of  securing 
a  tax  in  some  other  way. 

Revenue  from  Land-Sales.  —  The  federal  govern- 
ment has  at  times  received  a  large  revenue  from  the  sale 
of  public  lands.  In  the  year  1836  the  income  from  this 
1  Art.  I.  sec.  10,  cl.  2. 


TAXATION.  75 

source  was  nearly  equal  to  that  from  all  other  sources 
combined.  At  the  present  time  it  is  comparatively  in- 
significant. Its  collection  belongs  to  the  Department  of 
the  Interior.  Land  offices  are  opened  in  the  vicinity 
of  lands  offered  for  sale,  and  the  money  received  in 
payment  is  accounted  for  to  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States. 

Postage.  —  The  Post-Office  Department  is  supported 
chiefly  by  the  receipts  for  postage.  It  is  the  policy  of 
the  government  to  collect  no  more  revenue  in  this  De- 
partment than  is  necessary  for  its  support.  There  has 
usually  been  a  deficiency,  to  be  made  up  by  an  appropri- 
ation from  other  sources. 

Internal  Revenue.  —  For  ten  years  following  1792, 
for  a  few  years  after  1814,  and  ever  since  1863,  "a  con- 
siderable revenue  has  been  derived  from  a  tax  on  com- 
modities produced  in  this  country.  For  a  few  years 
after  the  Civil  War  it  brought  in  more  than  half  the 
revenue,  and  it  still  yields  about  one-third.  The  com- 
modities selected  for  an  internal  revenue  tax  have  often 
been  such  as  were  deemed  injurious  to  the  people,  and 
one  object  of  the  tax  has  been  to  discourage  their  pro- 
duction and  use.  The  articles  from  which  the  greater 
part  of  the  internal  revenue  is  now  derived  are  tobacco, 
beer,  and  distilled  liquors. 

Collection  Districts.  —  In  the  Treasury  Department 
there  is  a  Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue  to  super- 
vise the  collection  of  this  tax.  The  country  is  divided 
into  more  than  a  hundred  collection  districts,  in  each  of 
which  are  appointed  collectors  and  assistants,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  carry  into  effect  the  revenue  laws. 

Customs.  —  By   far   the   most    important  source   of 


76  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

revenue  to  the  federal  government  has  been  customs,  or 
duties  upon  imported  goods.  For  the  entire  period  of 
our  history  more  has  been  collected  from  this  source 
than  from  all  others.-  The  commodities  upon  which 
duties  are  imposed  are  numerous.  More  than  twenty 
pages  of  the  Revised  Statutes  are  occupied  with  the 
tariff  lists.  While  the  commodities  on  the  list  are 
numbered  by  thousands,  the  greater  part  of  the  revenue 
is  derived  from  a  few.  From  some  articles  there  is  no 
revenue,  because  the  tax  is  so  high  that  people  will  not 
be  at  the  expense  of  importing  them. 

Protective  and  Revenue  Tariffs.  —  One  object  of 
the  tariff  has  been  to  encourage  home  production.  The 
foreign  commodity  is  taxed  for  the  purpose  of  prevent- 
ing its  sale  in  America  in  equal  competition  with  home 
products.  A  duty  for  this  purpose  is  called  a  Protec- 
tive Tariff.  A  tax  on  imports,  maintained  solely  to 
raise  revenue  for  the  support  of  the  government,  is 
called  a  Revenue  Tariff.  A  pure  revenue  tariff  may  be 
collected  from  two  classes  of  commodities :  first,  those 
which  are  not  produced  in  this  country,  as  tea,  coffee, 
and  spices;  second,  commodities  on  which  an  equal 
home  tax  is  laid  when  produced  here.  For  instance, 
under  such  a  tariff  a  duty  upon  tobacco  would  be  allow- 
able precisely  equal  to  the  internal  revenue  tax,  for 
then  all  tobacco,  whether  of  home  or  foreign  produc- 
tion, would  pay  an  equal  tax,  and  share  equally  in  the 
advantages  of  the  market. 

The  collection  of  duties  upon  imported  goods  is  also 
a  part  of  the  business  of  the  Treasury  Department. 
The  law  establishes  ports  of  entry,  that  is,  harbors  where 
ships  are  authorized  to  unload ;  and  collection  districts, 


TAXATION.  77 

more  than  a  hundred  in  number,  with  collectors  in.  each 
port  and  district. 

The  United  States  and  Direct  Taxes.  —  The  pecu- 
liar relation  which  exists  between  the  states  and  the 
federal  government  is  well  illustrated  in  the  matter  of 
direct  taxation.  The  Constitution  confers  upon  Con- 
gress full  power  of  taxation.  The  single  limitation  is  a 
prohibition  to  levy  an  export  duty.  But  Congress  has 
not  often  attempted  to  levy  a  direct  tax.  If  the  states 
held  the  same  relation  to  the  federal  government  that 
a  county  holds  to  a  state,  the  method  of  direct  taxation 
would  be  the  simplest  and  the  easiest  way  to  secure 
a  revenue.  Congress  would  simply  determine  the 
amount  to  be  raised,  and  apportion  to  each  state  its 
proper  share  according  to  population.  If  the  legislature 
in  any  state  should  refuse  to  levy  and  collect  the  tax, 
the  members  would  be  arraigned  before  a  federal  court 
and  compelled  to  do  their  duty  or  be  imprisoned  for 
contempt. 

In  1861  Congress  did  vote  a  direct  tax  to  be  collected 
in  the  several  states.  The  law  provided  for  the  collec- 
tion in  one  of  two  ways.  First,  if  a  state  would  assume 
the  burden  of  collecting  the  tax  and  paying  it  into  the 
United  States  Treasury,  fifteen  per  cent  of  the  amount 
should  be  given  to  the  state.  Second,  in  case  the  state 
did  not  do  this,  then  federal  officers  should  collect  it. 
The  federal  government  has  not  the  use  of  counties 
and  townships  to  assist  in  the  collection  of  taxes.  To 
do  this,  it  must  appoint  its  own  officers.  The  trouble 
and  expense  of  collecting  was  such  that  the  tax  was 
continued  only  one  year.  From  1861  to  1872  the  federal 
government  collected  a  tax  on  incomes. 


78  MATTEES   CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

Enforced  Action.  —  One  of  the  counties  of  a  West- 
ern state  refused  to  levy  a  tax  for  the  payment  of  its 
debts.  The  county  board,  whose  business  it  was  to  levy 
the  tax,  was  ordered  by  a  court  to  levy  the  necessary 
tax,  or  incur  the  penalty  of  imprisonment  for  contempt 
of  court.  They  obeyed  the  order.  Many  things  may 
be  left  to  the  voluntary  action  of  counties  and  town- 
ships, but  the  payment  of  taxes  is  not  one  of  them. 
The  Continental  Congress  depended  upon  the  voluntary 
action  of  the  states  to  collect  the  taxes  apportioned  to 
each,  and  the  taxes  were  not  collected.  Counties  levy 
taxes  promptly,  because  they  know  the  power  of  the 
state  to  compel  action. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

TOWNS  AND  CITIES. 

Meaning  of  Terms.  —  Outside  of  New  England,  the 
word  town  is  usually  applied  to  almost  any  group  of 
dwellings  which  are  situated  near  together.  Often  a 
small  town  is  simply  a  part  of  the  township,  has  no 
fixed  limits  and  no  powers  of  government.'  Village  com- 
monly means  a  small  collection  of  dwellings;  though 
in  some  parts  of  New  England  the  term  is  applied  to 
large  business  and  manufacturing  centres,  embracing 
many  thousands  of  people.  Some  states  provide  for  in- 
corporating villages.  When  this  is  done,  definite  limits 


TOWNS  AND   CITIES.  79 

are  fixed  to  the  village,  and  within  them  there  is  estab- 
lished a  new  local  government.  Other  states  provide  for 
the  incorporation  of  towns,  where  the  word  is  used  in 
the  sense  of  village.  An  incorporated  village  or  an  in- 
corporated town  may  still  be  a  part  of  the  township 
and  subject  to  township  government;  but  as  a  corpora- 
tion it  has  powers  not  possessed  by  the  township.  The 
word  city  everywhere  is  used  to  designate  government 
with  special  corporate  powers.  In  some  of  the  states 
a  population  of  one  thousand  may  be  organized  into  a 
city,  while  in  others  a  population  of  ten  thousand  is 
required. 

Municipal  Constitutions.  —  The  frame  of  govern- 
ment for  incorporated  towns  and  cities  is  formed  by 
the  state  legislature.  It  is  commonly  uniform  for  the 
smaller  municipalities.  In  some  of  the  states  all  the 
cities  are  classified  according  to  population,  and  are 
required  to  conform  to  a  general  plan  for  city  govern- 
ment. The  state  constitution  in  some  cases  prohibits 
special  laws  for  the  organization  of  a  city.  Other  state 
legislatures  pursue  the  policy  of  granting  special  char- 
ters to  cities,  and  making  laws  for  them  separately. 

City  Officers.  —  The  characteristic  officers  of  a  city 
are :  1.  A  legislative  body,  whose  members  are  called 
aldermen,  councilmen,  etc.  2.  A  mayor,  who  is  the 
chief  executive  officer.  3.  City  or  police  courts.  There 
are  besides,  an  organized  police,  a  treasurer,  a  solicitor, 
street  commissioners,  and  in  large  cities  many  minor 
officials. 

The  Work  of  City  Governments.  —  In  matters  con- 
cerning education,  highways,  the  care  of  the  poor,  taxa- 
tion, and  holding  elections,  cities  sometimes  do  for  their 


80  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

inhabitants  what  elsewhere  is  done  by  the  school  district, 
the  township,  and  the  county.  In  respect  to  all  these 
labors  the  dense  population  of  cities  renders  necessary 
peculiar  methods  of  governmental  administration.  Town 
and  city  schools  differ  in  organization  from  the  country 
schools.  Highways  in  cities  must  be  paved;  provision 
must  be  made  for  foot  passengers;  streets  must  be 
swept  and  cleaned.  The  burden  of  pauper  relief  is 
much  greater  in  cities  than  in  the  country.  In  addition 
to  homes  for  paupers,  city  governments  maintain  hos- 
pitals for  the  sick,  and  they  inspect  and  regulate  tene- 
ment houses.  Cities  share  with  counties  and  townships 
the  general  burden  of  taxation,  and  they  have  in  addi- 
tion special  powers  of  taxation.  The  forms  of  taxation 
peculiar  to  cities  are  :  1.  The  expense  for  pavements 
and  sidewalks  may  be  met  by  assessing  the  cost  upon 
adjoining  lots.  2.  A  large  revenue  is  derived  from 
license  fees.  3.  The  companies  who  control  the  city 
monopolies,  i.e.  gas  companies,  water  companies,  and 
street-car  companies,  sometimes  pay  the  city  for  their 
privileges.  4.  Some  cities  derive  a  revenue  by  owning 
and  operating  the  city  monopolies. 

Independent  Powers  of  Cities.  —  Counties  and 
townships  in  the  greater  part  of  the  states  have  few 
independent  powers  ;  they  are  chiefly  agencies  for  the 
administration  of  the  laws  of  the  state.  Cities  are  also 
administrative  agents  of  the  state  government;  but 
their  chief  importance  arises  from  the  large  number 
of  powers  which  they  may  exercise  to  meet  their  own 
peculiar  needs.  Besides  what  is  indicated  in  the  pre- 
ceding paragraph,  cities  have  power  to  prescribe  the 
sort  of  materials  which  may  be  used  for  buildings,  and 


THE  CHOOSING   OF  PUBLIC  SERVANTS.  81 

to  maintain  agencies  for  preventing  and  extinguishing 
fires.  They  do  many  things  to  protect  the  citizens  from 
disease,  especially  from  contagious  diseases.  They  make 
many  laws  for  the  preservation  of  order. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE   CHOOSING    OF   PUBLIC    SERVANTS. 

Selecting  Teachers.  —  A  school  teacher  is  usually 
employed  by  a  school  board.  There  have  been  cases 
where  the  teacher  has  been  elected  by  a  popular  -vote ; 
but  this  is  not  a  satisfactory  method.  It  is  customary 
in  -  popular  elections  to  choose  only  those  who  reside 
within  the  district.  Many  school  districts  do  not  con- 
tain teachers,  and  the  district  is  obliged  to  find  a 
teacher  elsewhere.  It  is  better  that  there  should  be  a 
class  of  persons  who  make  teaching  their  business,  that 
they  may  be  specially  fitted  for  their  work.  Teachers 
would  not  be  encouraged  to  fit  themselves  for  their 
occupation  if  their  services  were  limited  to  the  district 
where  they  reside. 

Skilled  Officials  selected  by  Boards  or  Individuals. 
—  When  a  city  is  in  need  of  a  superintendent  to  manage 
its  schools,  the  school  board  is  authorized  to  seek  out 
and  employ  one.  A  wise  choice  may  require  confiden- 
tial information,  and  so  the  responsibility  of  choosing  is 
left  to  a  few.  A  county  needs  a  skilled  superintendent 
for  the  country  schools,  and  it  is  better  to  have  a 


82  .     MATTERS  CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

county  board  employ  such  an  officer.  The  plan  of 
choosing  the  county  superintendent  by  a  popular  elec- 
tion limits  each  county  to  candidates  residing  within 
its  own  borders.  When  a  county  superintendent,  after 
becoming  skilled  in  his  work,  is,  by  a  popular  election, 
removed  from  office,  the  entire  state  is  deprived  of  his 
services.  If  the  state  should  make  it  the  duty  of  a 
county  board  to  employ  the  county  superintendent,  the 
most  skilful  would  be  most  sure  of  employment.  If 
they  were  not  employed  by  one  county,  they  would  be 
by  another.  If  a  county  needs  a  court-house,  it  does 
not  select  a  builder  by  a  popular  election,  but  commits 
the  selection  to  a  responsible  board.  When  counties 
select  a  skilled  engineer  to  superintend  road  work,  it  is 
done  by  the  county  board,  and  not  by  a  popular  elec- 
tion. From  these  examples  we  may  derive  the  general 
statement  that  where  the  government  is  in  need  of 
professional  skill  in  its  service,  it  is  best  to  secure  this 
through  some  individual  officer  or  appointing  board. 

Elections.  —  In  popular  governments  there  is  a 
variety  of  usage  as  to  which  offices  shall  be  filled  by 
appointment  and  which  by  popular  election.  All  offi- 
cers derive  their  authority  directly  or  indirectly  from 
a  popular  election.  In  most  of  the  states  the  chief  state 
officers,  the  local  officers  of  the  school  districts,  town- 
ships, towns,  cities,  and  counties,  are  elected  by  the 
people.  In  the  federal  government,  the  President  and 
the  Vice-President  are  chosen  by  electors  elected  by 
popular  vote.  Representatives  are  elected  by  a  vote  of 
the  people,  and  senators  are  elected  by  the  state  legisla- 
tures. The  other  offices  in  the  federal  government  are 
filled  by  appointment. 


THE  CHOOSING   OF  PUBLIC  SERVANTS.  83 

Voting  Precincts.  —  The  holding  of  elections  is  an 
important  part  of  the  business  of  government.  A 
voting  precinct  should  be  small,  as  it  is  not  convenient 
to  travel  many  miles  for  the  purpose  of  voting.  A 
township  is  a  convenient  voting  precinct  for  rural  dis- 
tricts. Small  towns  and  cities  are  voting  precincts. 
Large  cities  are  subdivided  for  voting  purposes.  Some 
of  the  local  governments  have  elections  for  local  officers 
on  a  different  day  from  that  of  the  general  election. 
In  these  cases  the  officers  who  receive  the  votes  count 
them  in  the  presence  of  all  who  wish  to  witness  the 
process,  and  declare  the  result. 

Canvassing  the  Votes.  —  The  following  method  is 
used  in  many  states :  At  the  general  elections  of 
county,  state,  and  federal  officers,  there  are  local  officers 
whose  duty  it  is  to  hold  the  election  in  each  precinct  in 
the  state.  The  laws  of  the  state  prescribe  the  manner 
of  holding  these  elections.  The  officers  are  required 
to  keep  the  polls  open  during  certain  hours,  to  receive 
the  votes  of  all  who  have  a  right  to  vote,  and  to  exclude 
others.  After  the  polls  are  closed,  the  officers  count 
the  votes,  and  make  a  list  of  all  the  persons  who  receive 
votes,  and  of  the  number  which  they  receive.  Those 
who  receive  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  offices 
within  the  precinct  are  declared  elected.  In  the  case 
of  the  more  general  offices  of  the  county,  the  state,  and 
the  nation,  the  lists  are  sent  to  a  county  board,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  meet  at  a  time  specified  by  law,  and  can- 
vass the  votes.  _  The  county  board  declares  the  result  of 
the  vote  for  county  officers,  and  sends  the  lists  of  votes 
for  the  more  general  officers  to  the  state  board  of  can- 
vassers. The  state  board  makes  a  canvass  of  the  vote 


84  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

for  all  the  remaining  officers,  and  declares  the  result. 
In  some  states  the  General  Assembly  canvasses  the 
votes  for  the  governor  and  the  lieutenant-governor. 

Election  of  President  and  Vice-President.  —  The 
people  do  not  vote  directly  for  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  but  vote  instead  for  presidential  electors. 
According  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
each  state  is  required  to  choose  as  many  electors  as  there 
are  senators  and  representatives  from  the  state.  These 
electors  are  chosen  at  a  general  election  held  in  Novem- 
ber in  each  fourth  year.  The  votes  are  canvassed  in 
the  same  way  as  are  those  for  other  state  officers.  The 
electors  chosen  are  required  to  meet  in  their  respective 
states  on  the  second  Monday  in  January,  and  vote  by 
ballot  for  President  of  the  United  States,  and  by  a  dis- 
tinct ballot  for  Vice-President.  Separate  lists  are  pre- 
pared of  the  vote  for  each  of  the  two  offices,  and  three 
copies  are  made.  One  is  deposited  with  the  clerk  of  the 
nearest  district  court  of  the  United  States,  one  is  sent 
by  messenger  to  the  President  of  the  Senate,  and  the 
third  is  sent  to  him  by  mail.  On  the  second  Wednes- 
day in  February,  the  President  of  the  Senate,  in  the 
presence  of  both  houses  of  Congress,  breaks  the  seals 
and  counts  the  votes.  Of  the  candidates  for  each  office, 
the  one  who  receives  the  greatest  number  of  votes,  if  it 
be  a  majority  of  the  whole,  is  declared  elected.  If  no 
candidate  for  the  presidenc}^  receives  a  majority,  the 
House  of  Representatives  proceeds  to  choose  a  Presi- 
dent from  the  three  candidates  receiving  the  greatest 
number  of  votes.  If  a  Vice-President'is  not  chosen  by 
vote  of  the  electors,  the  Senate  proceeds  to  choose  a 


THE  CHOOSING   OF  PUBLIC  SERVANTS.  85 

Vice-President  from  the  two  candidates  receiving  the 
greatest  number  of  votes.1 

Disputed  Election.  —  It  has  happened  several  times 
that  two  sets  of  electors  have  claimed  to  be  elected  in 
a  single  state,  and  each  set  has  sent  to  the  President  of 
the  Senate  a  list  of  its  votes.  In  1876  duplicate  lists 
were  sent  from  three  Southern  states.  The  candidates 
were  S.  J.  Tilden  and  R.  B.  Hayes.  If  all  the  disputed 
lists  were  counted  in  favor  of  the  candidacy  of  Mr. 
Hayes  it  would  result  in  electing  him  President  by  a 
majority  of  one.  Any  other  contingency  would  result 
in  the  election  of  Mr.  Tilden.  The  state  of  feeling 
was  such  as  to  threaten  serious  trouble ;  and  Congress 
averted  the  danger  by  creating  a  special  board,  con- 
sisting of  five  representatives,  five  senators,  and  five 
justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  to  decide  in  advance 
which  of  the  disputed  lists  should  be  counted.  To 
avoid- such  a  danger  in  the  future  a  recent  act  of  Con- 
gress authorizes  the  legislature  of  each  state  to  establish 
by  law  a  special  court  to  determine  cases  of  disputed 
elections.  This,  at  first  view,  seems  to  be  a  case  where 
Congress  is  making  use  of  the  states  to  transact  a  part 
of  its  business.  But  the  law  does  not  in  express  terms 
lay  a  command  upon  the  states,  as  would  a  state  legis- 
lature in  like  case  in  dealing  with  a  county,  but  the  law 
permits  the  state  to  establish  such  a  court;  and  it 
further  gives  notice  that  if  any  state  does  not  choose  to 
establish  such  a  court,  and  decide  by  its  own  court  who 
shall  be  its  lawful  electors,  the  vote  of  the  state  shall 
not  be  counted  in  the  choice  of  a  President.  This, 
while  leaving  the  states  nominally  free,  makes  it  practi- 
1  Art.  II.  sec.  1,  and  Amendment  12. 


86  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

cally  certain  that  every  state  will  decide  all  cases  of 
contest  in  the  choice  of  presidential  electors. 

The  Ballot.  —  When  members  of  Parliament  were 
first  elected  in  England,  the  choice  of  the  voter  was 
manifested  by  the  voice,  by  show  of  hands  or  other  pub- 
lic sign.  Voting  for  members  of  Parliament  continued 
to  be  by  voice  till  1871,  when  the  secret  ballot  was  in- 
troduced. Voting  by  ballot  was  provided  for  in  some 
of  the  colonial  charters,  and  in  some  of  the  colonies 
and  states  it  has  always  prevailed.  In  other  states, 
especially  in  the  South,  the  ballot  was  not  used  until 
the  Civil  War.  Now  its  use  is  required  by  every  state 
constitution  except  two.  The  object  of  the  ballot  is  to 
secure  secrecy,  that  the  voter  may  be  free  to  express 
his  real  choice  without  fear  or  intimidation. 

The  Australian  System.  —  The  ballot  does  not  se- 
cure entire  secrecy.  Tickets  are  printed  and  distrib- 
uted by  those  interested  in  the  election.  The  appearance 
of  the  paper  in  the  hands  of  the  voter  indicates  his 
choice.  A  briber  may  furnish  the  voter  with  a  ticket, 
and  watch  him  till  he  deposits  it  in  the  box.  A  system 
of  voting  originating  in  Australia,  adopted  in  England 
and  Canada,  and  now  enacted  in  several  states  of  the 
Union,  is  fitted  to  remedy  these  defects.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  chief  provisions  of  the  system  :  1.  The  gov- 
ernment prints  all  the  tickets,  and  puts  on  each  ticket 
the  names  of  all  the  candidates.  To  enable  the  officers 
to  do  this  the  law  provides  that  the  political  parties 
and  the  bodies  of  citizens  who  wish  to  nominate  candi- 
dates shall  do  so  in  due  time  and  notify  the  officers. 
2.  The  voter  is  furnished  by  an  officer  at  the  voting 
place,  with  the  ticket  which  he  is  to  place  in  the  box. 


THE  CHOOSING  OF  PUBLIC  SERVANTS.  87 

3.  Before  depositing  the  ticket  the  voter  takes  his  place 
at  a  desk  provided  for  the  purpose,  where  his  hands  are 
concealed  from  view,  and  there  makes  a  cross  opposite 
the  names  of  the  candidates  for  whom  he  wishes  to  vote. 
The  ticket  is  then  folded  and  put  into  the  ballot  box. 
There  is  a  number  of  minor  provisions,  such  as  guard- 
ing the  polls  against  intruders,  and  requiring  a  sufficient 
number  of  voting  places  to  prevent  the  necessity  of 
haste.  An  officer  is  commissioned  to  assist  the  blind 
and  the  illiterate  in  marking  the  ballot. 

Constitutional  Provisions.  —  Every  state  constitu- 
tion sets  forth  who  have  a  right  to  vote.  The  com- 
mon formula  is,  "  All  male  citizens  of  the  United  States 
.over  twenty-one  years  of  age,"  with  certain  limitations. 
There  are  requirements  as  to  residence.  Soldiers  quar- 
tered in  a  state  may  not  vote.  Some  constitutions  pro- 
vide that  students  do  not  by  attending  school  gain  a 
residence  entitling  them  to  vote.  Idiots,  insane  per- 
sons, and  persons  convicted  of  crime  may  not  vote. 
Bribery  at  an  election  disqualifies  in  some  states,  and 
participation  in  a  duel,  in  some.  Massachusetts  insists 
upon  ability  to  read  the  Constitution  in  the  English 
language,  and  the  Florida  constitution  makes  it  the 
duty  of  the  legislature  to  enact  an  educational  test. 

The  United  States  Constitution.  —  The  regulation 
of  the  elective  franchise  is  not  among  the  powers  con- 
ferred upon  Congress ;  it  is  a  power  reserved  to  the 
states  or  to  the  people.  The  Constitution  makes  the 
electors  for  representatives  to  Congress  the  same  as 
those  who  vote  for  "  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the 
state  legislature." l  The  time,  place  and  manner  of  hold- 

1  Art.  I.  sec.  2,  cl.  1. 


88  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  LOCAL. 

ing  elections  for  senators  and  representatives  is  to  be 
prescribed  by  the  legislature  of  each  state ,  but  "  Con- 
gress may  at  any  time  by  law  make  or  alter  such  regu- 
lations, except  as  to  the  place  of  choosing  senators."1 
This  clause  gives  to  Congress  the  power  tc  take  full 
control  of  the  election  of  its  own  members,  but  thus 
far  the  power  has  not  been  exercised.  The  Fifteenth 
Amendment  removes  from  the  states  the  power  to 
deprive  a  person  of  the  elective  franchise  on  account  of 
race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude.  With 
this  limitation  the  regulation  of  the  franchise  is  still  in 
the  hands  of  the  state,  which  may  withhold  it  for  other 
reasons.  When  the  amendment  was  adopted  many 
state  constitutions  restricted  the  franchise  to  "white" 
male  citizens.  These  restrictions  of  course  at  once 

became  void. 

1  Art.  1.  sec,  4 


PART   III. 

THE     ADMINISTRATION     OF     JUSTICE. 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

ANCIENT   USAGES. 

A  GOVERNMENT  may  exist  and  do  nothing  for  the 
education  of  youth ;  it  may  entirely  neglect  to  provide 
public  highways;  it  may  do  nothing  for  the  poor  and 
other  unfortunate  classes.  All  these  things  may  be  left 
to  other  agencies. 

What  a  Government  must  do.  —  But  there  is  one 
duty  which  the  government  cannot  leave  to  other  agen- 
cies. It  must  administer  justice  ;  it  must  punish  the 
wrong-doer.  If  the  government  leaves  to  another  agency 
the  protection  of  life  and  property  and  the  punishment 
of  wrong-doers,  then  that  other  agency  becomes  the 
government.  We  call  that  a  state  of  anarchy  in  which 
every  man  is  permitted  to  do  what  is  right  in  his  own 
eyes,  and  in  which  there  is  no  recognized  authority  to 
preserve  order  and  administer  justice.  There  are  many 
things  which  a  government  may  do,  and  which  a  good 
government  will  do,  besides  administering  justice,  but 
so  much  it  must  do.  There  are  states  of  society  in 
which  individuals  avenge  their  own  wrongs  and  main- 


90  THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  JUSTICE. 

tain  their  own  rights ;  but  in  so  far  as  this  condition 
exists,  it  is  a  state  of  barbarism ;  civil  government  does 
not  exist  under  such  conditions. 

Union  of  Departments.  —  By  a  reference  to  pre- 
vious chapters  it  will  be  observed  that  in  past  times 
legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  powers  have  often 
been  in  the  hands  of  the  same  officers.  In  England  the 
three  sorts  of  business  were  united  in  the  town-meeting 
of  the  ancient  township,  in  the  court  of  the  hundred 
and  in  the  county  court.  The  king  and  his  council 
were  at  the  same  time  law-makers,  law-executors,  and 
the  highest  judicial  body  of  the  realm.  The  House  of 
Lords  is  still  the  court  of  last  appeal  on  some  matters 
of  English  law.  The  separation  of  the  judiciary  from 
the  other  departments  is  most  complete  in  America. 

Judicial  Business  in  Ancient  Townships,  Hun- 
dreds, and  Counties.  —  One  part  of  the  business  of  the 
town-meeting  among  the  early  English  was  to  adminis- 
ter justice  between  man  and  man.  In  this  work  they 
followed  the  good  customs  of  old.  In  difficult  cases 
the  old  men  were  called  upon  to  state  the  custom  as 
they  remembered  it,  and  the  entire  community  gave 
voice  in  the  decision.  When  the  group  of  towns  in  a 
given  locality  united  in  a  hundred  court,  the  age  and 
wisdom  of  a  larger  community  were  brought  to  bear 
on  the  administration  of  justice.  To  the  hundred  court 
came  the  chief  lords  of  the  hundred,  and  a  reeve  and 
four  best  men  to  represent  each  township.  These  all 
joined  in  the  administration  of  justice.  The  court  of 
the  shire,  or  county,  followed  the  model  of  the  hundred 
court.  To  the  shire  court  came  the  chief  lords  of  the 
shire,  and  representatives  from  hundreds,  boroughs,  and 


ANCIENT   USAGES.  91 

townships.  In  this  court  was  to  be  found  the  united 
wisdom  of  the  county.  To  it  were  taken  cases  at  law 
which  had  proved  too  difficult  for  the  hundred  court. 

Common  L,aw. —  In  all  these  courts,  as  well  as  in 
the  higher  courts  held  by  the  king's  justices,  the  aim 
was  to  follow  the  customs  of  the  realm  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice.  When  a  court  decided  a  case,  it  was 
equivalent  to  a  declaration  that  this  was  the  custom 
applied  to  the  case  in  hand.  The  decisions  of  courts, 
therefore,  were  of  great  importance  in  determining  the 
customs  and  laws  which  formed  the  basis  of  English 
justice.  From  this  source  we  have  the  Common  Law 
of  England,  which  came  to  America  with  our  English 
ancestors. 

The  townships,  the  hundred,  and  the  county .  courts 
grew  out  of  the  habits  and  customs  of  the  people. 
With  the  growth  of  the  power  of  kings  and  lords,  the 
king  and  his  council  came  to  exercise  important  judi- 
cial powers  ;  while  local  lords  held  courts  of  their  own, 
and  often  gained  control  of  the  local  popular  courts. 

The  King's  Justices.  —  The  kings  were  disposed  to 
increase  their  power  by  extending  their  judicial  func- 
tions. This  was  often  quite  agreeable  to  the  people, 
because  they  had  already  fallen  into  the  hands  of  lords 
and  local  tyrants.  A  justice  from  the  king's  council, 
empowered  to  hold  a  court  for  the  people,  was  hailed 
by  them  as  a  deliverance  from  these  local  tyrants.  The 
king  and  his  council  decided  cases  brought  before  them 
from  the  lower  courts ;  and  justices  from  the  king's 
court  went  through  the  shires  of  England,  holding 
courts  and  administering  justice  in  the  king's  name. 
England  had  come  to  be  occupied  by  a  mixed  popula- 


92  THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  JUSTICE. 

tion ;  and  there  was  naturally  a  great  diversity  in  the 
local  customs  of  the  people's  courts.  The  king's  judges 
had  excellent  opportunity  to  learn  all  the  good  customs 
of  the  realm  ;  and  the  king  and  his  council  could  em- 
body these  good  customs  in  general  orders  or  laws.  In 
this  way  the  courts  and  laws  were  reduced  to  a  uniform 
system  throughout  England.  The  king  came  to  be 
looked  upon  as  the  source  of  all  law,  because  he  made 
known  the  laws,  and  the  law  was  administered  in  his 
name  ;  yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  most  that  was  excellent 
in  the  laws  of  England  came  from  the  good  customs  of 
the  people,  developed  in  their  local  courts.  A  clause 
in  Magna  Charta  requires  the  king's  justice  to  hold 
court  four  times  each  year  in  each  shire.  These  courts 
gradually  absorbed  much  of  the  judicial  business  for- 
merly done  by  the  county  courts. 

Justices  of  the  Peace.  —  Canute,  the  Danish  king 
who  began  to  rule  in  1016,  required  all  citizens  to  take 
an  oath  that  they  would  not  be  thieves,  or  robbers,  or 
receivers  of  such,  and  that  they  would  fulfil  their  duty 
of  pursuing  the  thief  when  the  hue  and  cry l  was  raised. 

1  From  very  early  times  in  English  history  it  was  made  the  duty  of 
every  citizen  to  pursue  and  arrest  persons  whom  he  saw  in  the  act  of 
committing  a  crime.  The  English  government  held  the  people  of  the 
locality  in  which  the  crime  was  committed  responsible  for  the  crime. 
If  the  criminal  escaped,  the  town  or  the  hundred  had  to  pay  the 
penalty  affixed  to  his  crime.  One  method  of  taking  a  criminal  was  by 
"  hue  and  cry."1"1  This  custom  began  in  the  earliest  times.  When  a 
crime  was  committed,  it  was  the  duty  of  any  citizen  who  knew  of  it, 
and  knew,  or  thought  he  knew-,  who  committed  it,  to  raise  the  hue  and 
cry  against  the  criminal.  This  was  done  by  crying  aloud,  or  blowing 
a  horn,  and  giving  chase  to  the  supposed  criminal.  Any  citizen  who 
heard  the  hue  and  cry  and  did  not  join  in  the  pursuit,  was  liable  to  be 
punished.  In  later  times  citizens  were  required  to  use  horses  in  the 
chase. 


ANCIENT   USAGES.  93 

This  oath  was  exacted  by  other  kings,  and  in  1194 
Richard  I.  appointed  knights  in  each  shire,  to  enforce 
the  oath  and  preserve  the  peace.  These  knights  were 
called  Conservators  of  the  Peace.  Their  duties  were  at 
first  police  rather  than  judicial ;  but  in  course  of  time 
they  came  to  exercise  judicial  functions.  By  a  law  of 
Edward  III.,  1327-1377,  these  conservators  of  the  peace 
were  empowered  to  hear  and  determine  felonies.  From 
this  time  their  duties  were  largely  judicial  and  their 
name  was  changed  to  Justices  of  the  Peace. 

Quarter  Sessions.  —  Justices  of  the  Peace  appointed 
by  the  king  gradually  assumed  both  the  judicial  and  the 
administrative  business  of  the  more  popular  court  of  the 
hundred.  All  the  justices  of  the  shire  were  called  to- 
gether four  times  each  year,  and  organized  as  -a  Court 
of  Quarter  Sessions.  This  court  displaced  the  older 
representative  county  court.  The  Court  of  Quarter 
Sessions  was  not  only  an  important  judicial  body  for 
the  trial  of  cases  at  law,  but  it  was  a  body  for  the  trans- 
action of  all  sorts  of  county  business.  This,  as  stated 
in  a  former  chapter,  was  the  form  of  county  govern- 
ment existing  in  England  when  America  was  settled, 
and  was  transferred  to  this  country.  One  or  more  jus- 
tices held  petty  sessions  in  the  hundreds,  and  trans- 
acted business  as  the  lowest  court  in  the  land.  By 
these  various  changes,  gentlemen  holding  office  for  life 
gained  control  of  counties  and  hundreds  ;  the  jury  was 
all  that  remained  of  the  ancient  people's  courts. 


94  THE  ADMINISTRATION    OF  JUSTICE. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE   ORIGIN   OF   JURIES. 

The  Jury  and  the  Town-Meeting. — There  were  some 
customs  of  the  ancient  English  town-meeting  which 
are  believed  to  have  a  connection  with  the  origin  of  the 
jury.  An  injured  person  would  stand  up  before  the 
meeting  and  state  in  a  formal  manner  a  charge  against 
his  supposed  injurer.  The  accused  person  would  deny 
in  a  formal  way  the  truth  of  the  charge.  Each  party 
would  seek  to  establish  the  truth  of  his  statement,  by 
calling  upon  his  supporters  to  join  hands  and  swear  to 
the  truth  of  his  word.  The  one  who  could  get  twelve 
men  to  swear  with  him  would  usually  carry  the  voice 
of  the  meeting  and  win  his  case.  The  twelve  who 
swore  together  to  the  same  thing  were  not  jurors.  Yet 
the  custom  is  supposed  to  have  some  connection  with 
the  origin  of  juries. 

The  Jury  and  the  Normans.  —  When  William  the 
Conqueror  and  his  Norman  army  came  into  England, 
(1066),  and  finally  settled  down  to  rule  the  land,  the 
king  was  in  great  need  of  definite  and  accurate  informa- 
tion as  to  the  condition  of  his  kingdom.  He  wanted  to 
know  how  many  estates  there  were  in  the  realm ;  how 
many  people  there  were  on  each  estate ;  and  what  was 
the  rank  and  condition  of  each  person ;  how  much  prop- 
erty there  was ;  and  what  were  the  customary  services 
and  rents.  To  secure  information  on  these  points,  he 
ordered  a  general  survey  and  census  of  the  realm. 
One  method  employed  for  gaining  information  was  to 


.THE  ORIGIN   OF  JURIES.  95 

require  twelve  men  of  the  neighborhood  to  give  the 
facts  under  oath.  This  method  of  gaining  information, 
by  twelve  sworn  witnesses  of  the  neighborhood,  was 
continued  under  other  kings. 

Closely  connected  with  the  usage  of  gaining  informa- 
tion through  the  medium  of  twelve  witnesses,  there  grew 
up,  in  the  hundred  and  the  county  courts,  the  practice 
of  deciding  disputes  by  the  same  agency.  The  sheriff 
called  together  twelve  men  of  the  neighborhood  to  de- 
cide by  oath  between  rival  claimants  to  an  estate.  In 
like  manner,  men  were  presented  to  the  court  for  trial 
by  the  oath  of  twelve  men  of  the  neighborhood. 

Trial  by  Ordeal.  —  When  a  person  was  accused 
before  the  court  by  the  oath  of  twelve  neighbors,  it  was 
common  to  test  the  truth  or  falsity  of  the  accusation  by 
a  method  of  trial  called  the  ordeal.  Of  this  there  were 
various  forms.  Sometimes  the  accused  person  was 
thrown  into  deep  water ;  and  if  he  sank,  he  was  held  to 
be  innocent.  Or  he  was  blindfolded,  and  compelled  to 
walk  over  a  space  strewn  with  hot  irons  ;  and  if  he  was 
not  burnt,  he  was  held  to  be  innocent.  Or  his  hands 
were  thrust  into  hot  water ;  and  if  he  was  not  scalded, 
he  was  innocent. 

The  ordeal  was  looked  upon  as  a  method  of  determin- 
ing the  facts  by  divine  agency,  and  was  usually  admin- 
istered under  the  guidance  of  church  officers;  but  in 
1215  it  was  condemned  by  the  church. 

Trial  by  Battle.  —  Both  the  English  and  the  Nor- 
mans were  accustomed  to  trials  by  ordeal ;  but  among 
the  English  there  was  also  the  method  of  deciding  cases 
by  twelve  sworn  witnesses.  It  was  when  other  methods 
failed  that  the  ordeal  was  ordered.  The  Normans  had 


96  THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  JUSTICE. 

a  method  of  trial  which  was  new  to  the  English,  and 
which  they  detested.  This  was  trial  by  battle.  Two 
men  would  fight  in  the  presence  of  the  court ;  and  the 
case  was  decided  by  the  result  of  the  fight.  Two 
stories,  preserved  to  us  from  this  period,  give  a  vivid 
picture  of  the  resistance  of  the  English  to  the  Norman 
method :  — 

"  At  Leicester  the  trial  by  compurgation,1  the  rough 
predecessor  of  trial  by  jury,  had  been  abolished  by  the 
earls  in  favor  of  trial  by  battle.  The  aim  of  the  bur- 
gesses was  to  regain  their  old  justice,  and  in  this  a  touch- 
ing incident  at  last  made  them  successful.  It  chanced 
that  two  kinsmen,  Nicholas,  the  son  of  Aeon,  and  Geof- 
frey, the  son  of  Nicholas,  waged  a  duel  about  a  certain 
piece  of  land,  concerning  which  a  dispute  had  arisen 
between  them ;  and  they  fought  from  the  first  to  the 
ninth  hour,  each  conquering  by  turns.  Then  one  of 
them,  fleeing  from  the  other  till  he  came  to  a  certain 
little  pit,  as  he  stood  on  the  brink  of  the  pit,  and  was 
about  to  fall  therein,  his  kinsman  said  to  him,  '  Take 
care  of  the  pit ;  turn  back,  lest  thou  shouldst  fall  into 
it.*  Thereat  so  much  clamor  and  noise  was  made  by 
the  bystanders,  and  those  who  were  sitting  around,  that 
the  Earl  heard  these  clamors  as  far  off  as  the  castle, 
and  he  enquired  of  some  how  it  was  there  was  such  a 
clamor ;  and  answer  was  made  to  him  that  two  kins- 
men were  fighting  about  a  certain  piece  of  ground,  and 
that  one  had  fled  till  he  reached  a  certain  little  pit,  and 
that  as  he  stood  over  the  pit  and  was  about  to  fall  into 
it,  the  other  warned  him.  Then  the  townsmen,  being 
moved  with  pity,  made  a  covenant  with  the  Earl  that 

1  By  witnesses  or  jurors. 


THE   ORIGIN   OF  JURIES.  97 

they  should  give  him  threepence  yearly  for  each  house 
on  High  Street  that  had  a  gable,  on  condition  that  he 
should  grant  to  them  that  twenty-four  jurors,  who  were 
in  Leicester  from  ancient  times,  should  from  that  time 
forward  discuss  and  decide  all  pleas  they  might  have 
among  themselves."  —  G-reens  History  of  the  English 
People. 

The  other  incident  is  from  the  history  of  St.  Edmunds- 
bury,  and  gives  an  insight  into  the  way  in  which  the 
English  method  of  trial  by  compurgation,  preserved  or 
regained  in  English  towns,  was  extended  to  the  sur- 
rounding country.  The  townsmen  of  St.  Edmundsbury 
were  living  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  right  of  trial  by 
compurgation,  while  just  outside  the  walls  of  the  town 
the  Norman  method  of  trial  by  battle  prevailed.  A 
man  by  the  name  of  Kebel  was  tried  by  battle,  and  the 
battle  went  against  him.  He  was  accordingly  con- 
demned and  hanged  just  outside  the  walls  of  the  town, 
It  seems  that  Rebel's  neighbors  knew  that  he  was  inno- 
cent, and  the  townsmen  said,  "  Had  Kebel  been  a 
dweller  within  the  borough,  he  would  have  got  his  ac- 
quittal from  the  oaths  of  his  neighbors,  as  our  liberty 
is."  The  monks  who  were  lords  of  the  estate  were 
thereupon  moved  to  extend  the  same  liberties  to  their 
tenants. 

Grand  and  Petit  Juries.  —  As  trial  by  battle  was 
discontinued,  arid  the  ordeal  was  condemned  by  the 
church,  the  custom  became  universal  of  forming  a  jury 
of  twelve,  to  decide  upon  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  one 
presented  for  trial.  This  body  was  called  a  Petit 
Jury  in  distinction  from  the  larger  body,  which  made 
the  accusation  or  indictment,  and  received  the  name 


98  THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  JUSTICE. 

of  Grand  Jury.  The  grand  jury  consisted  at  first  of 
twenty-four,  but  afterwards  of  twenty-three  members, 
of  whom  twelve  were  required  to  make  an  indictment. 

Changes  in  the  Jury.  —  The  grand  jury  has  been 
little  changed,  but  the  petit  jury  has  been  greatly 
changed.  At  first  the  twelve  were  chosen  because  they 
were  supposed  to  be  acquainted  with  the  accused  and 
the  evidence,  and  they  decided  the  case  upon  their  own 
knowledge.  If  the  original  twelve  were  not  agreed, 
others  were  added  until  twelve  were  found  who  would 
pronounce  in  favor  of  the  guilt  or  the  innocence  of  the 
accused.  Afterwards,  in  the  time  of  Edward  III.,  1327, 
witnesses  were  added  to  the  jury,  not  to  unite  with 
them  in  the  verdict,  but  to  give  evidence.  About  a 
hundreds  years  later,  the  witnesses  were  no  longer  added 
to  the  jury,  but  were  examined  and  cross-examined  in 
open  court.  Jurymen  continued  to  use  their  own  knowl- 
edge of  the  facts  in  making  up  their  minds.  It  was 
not  until  three  hundred  years  later  still  that  jurors  were 
required  to  decide,  not  upon  their  own  knowledge,  but 
wholly  upon  evidence  given  in  open  court. 

Jurymen  as  Representatives.  —  In  the  old  popular 
courts  of  the  hundred  and  shire  the  representatives  spoke 
for  the  entire  community.  To  be  condemned  by  the 
county  court  was  to  be  condemned  by  the  county.  The 
jury  came  to  be  a  means  by  which  the  voice  of  the 
court  was  expressed.  Juries  continued  to  represent  the 
community  after  the  county  court  was  reorganized  and 
all  other  representatives  had  been  displaced  by  justices 
of  the  peace.  In  course  of  time,  grand  juries  were 
composed  chiefly  of  country  gentlemen,  and  the  trial, 
or  petit  jury,  was  left  to  the  common  freemen.  Probably 


MINISTERIAL   OFFICERS.  99 

a  large  part  of  the  devotion  of  Englishmen  to  trial  by 
jury  is  due  to  the  fact  that,  for  centuries,  the  jury  fur- 
nished the  only  means  by  which  the  ordinary  citizen 
could  share  in  important  governmental  business.  The 
jury  system  was  transplanted  to  America,  and  is  still 
maintained  with  some  modifications.  Some  of  the  states 
have  abolished  the  grand  jury  ;  in  some  a  grand  jury 
may  be  composed  of  only  five  persons.  In  some  of  the 
states  juries  of  a  less  number  than  twelve  are  author- 
ized in  some  of  the  lower  courts ;  and  in  some  the  jury 
is  not  required  to  be  unanimous  in  order  to  form  a 
verdict. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

MINISTERIAL   OFFICERS. 

Reeves.  —  Of  the  officers  who  serve  our  courts  and 
execute  their  orders,  the  most  familiar  are  the  constable 
and  the  sheriff.  These,  like  the  courts  themselves,  have 
come  down  to  us  from  the  distant  past.  In  the  ancient 
English  township,  the  headman  was  called  the  tun- 
gerefa,  or  town  reeve.  Where  townships  had  developed 
into  boroughs,  the  headman  was  called  the  head  bor- 
ough, or  borough  reeve.  In  the  hundred,  the  headman 
was  the  hundred  reeve.  In  the  county  or  shire  court, 
the  chief  man  was  the  shire  reeve,  which  title  was  early 
shortened  into  sheriff.  These  officers  in  early  times 
had  a  variety  of  duties. 

Constable.  —  With  the  Norman  lords  and  kings  from 
France,  came  into  England  the  name  constable,  which 


100  THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  JUSTICE. 

was  destined  to  fill  an  important  place  in  English  and 
American  history.  The  name  is  from  comes  stabuli, 
companion  of  the  stable,  and  may  once  have  meant  a 
hostler  ;  but  in  the  Norman  period  of  English  history 
it  had  the  more  dignified  meaning  of  a  commander  of 
horse.  The  Lord  High  Constable  of  England  was  the 
chief  military  officer  of  the  realm.  The  lords  of  the 
castles  had  constables  as  commanders  of  their  horse. 
In  striving  to  perfect  their  military  systems,  the  kings 
appointed  constables  in  the  hundreds,  to  see  that  the 
laws  for  arming  and  training  the  militia  were  carried 
into  effect.  Constables  were  also  chosen  in  the  town- 
ships, and  took  the  place  of  the  reeves  in  the  township 
and  the  hundred.  The  constable  of  the  hundred  was 
called  the  high  constable,  and  that  in  the  township  the 
petty  constable.  With  the  decline  of  the  hundred  the 
high  constable  disappeared,  and  the  petty  constable 
remained  as  a  local  police  and  ministerial  officer. 

Sheriff  and  Coroner.  —  The  sheriff,  as  the  headman 
of  the  county,  had  a  great  variety  of  responsible  duties, 
some  of  which  were  judicial.  In  the  year  1194,  a  law 
was  passed  directing  the  counties  to  elect  coroners  to 
hold  pleas,  or  suits,  in  the  name  of  the  king.  The 
coroner  seems  to  have  been  designed  as  a  sort  of  check 
upon  the  sheriff.  The  powers  of  both  of  these  officers 
have  become  greatly  restricted.  The  chief  remaining 
duty  of  the  coroner  is  to  hold  inquests  over  the  bodies 
of  persons  who  have  died  by  violence  or  under  sus- 
picious circumstances.  There  is  still  a  remnant  of  the 
old  functions  connecting  the  coroner  with  the  sheriff, 
in  the  provisions  made  by  statute  that  the  coroner  shall 


MINISTERIAL   OFFICERS.  101 

serve  processes  on  the  sheriff,  and  act  -as  sheriff  in  case 
of  vacancy  in  that  office. 

Marshal.  —  The  word  mars7>al,  .like  the  word  con- 
stable, was  introduced  by  the  French ;  "and  like  con- 
stable, it  was  also  first  applied  to  one  having  the  care  of 
horses.  The  Earl  Marshal  of  England  stood  next  in 
rank  to  the  Lord  High  Constable.  In  the  first  counties 
organized  in  Massachusetts,  New  York,  and  Maryland, 
the  term  marshal  was  used  for  a  time  in  the  place  of 
sheriff.  It  is  now  applied  to  the  ministerial  officer  for 
the  courts  of  the  federal  government,  and  the  chief 
police  officer  in  many  cities. 

Judicial  and  Ministerial  Functions.  —  The  sheriffs, 
constables,  and  bailiffs,  being  chief  officers  of  a  court,  or 
of  a  body  of  citizens  exercising  judicial  functions,  came 
themselves  to  hold  courts,  and  to  exercise  judicial 
powers.  There  is  a  clause  in  Magna  Charta,  given  by 
King  John  in  1215,  forbidding  sheriffs,  coroners,  con- 
stables, and  bailiffs  of  the  king  to  hold  pleas  of  the  king, 
or  to  try  cases  at  law.  The  judicial  business  was  passing 
more  and  more  into  the  hands  of  the  king's  justices. 
At  the  same  time,  the  head  officers  in  the  older  local 
assemblies,  or  people's  courts,  became  known  chiefly 
as  servants  of  the  new  courts.  They  served  notices, 
subpoenaed  witnesses,  arrested  criminals,  empanelled 
juries,  seized  and  sold  property,  as  they  were  ordered  by 
the  court.  These  are  called  ministerial  officers,  because 
it  is  their  chief  business  to  attend  upon  the  court  and 
obey  its  orders. 


102  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JUSTICE. 


:;  ?     CHAPTER  xvii. 

COLONIAL   COURTS. 


The  English  System.  —  When  Englishmen  founded 
colonies  in  America,  the  courts  with  which  they  were 
familiar  were  :  1.  The  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  Petty  Ses- 
sion, having  charge  of  minor  cases,  civil  and  criminal. 
2.  The  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  Quarter  Sessions,  hav- 
ing charge  of  appeals  from  the  justices  in  petty  ses- 
sions, and  more  important  cases.  3.  Assize  Courts,  held 
by  justices  sent  out  from  the  high  courts  of  the  king- 
dom, which  were  the  courts  for  the  trial  of  the  cases 
of  chief  importance,  civil  and  criminal.  4.  The  High 
Courts,  divided  into  various  separate  parts,  which  were 
for  the  hearing  of  appeals,  and  for  the  trial  of  cases 
involving  important  matters  of  state.  5.  A  portion  of 
judicial  business  was  still  transacted  in  the  House  of 
Lords  and  in  the  Privy  Council,  the  two  parts  of  the 
ancient  King's  Council.  Many  features  of  this  system 
were  transferred  to  America. 

In  Massachusetts.  —  Under  the  first  charter,  the 
judicial  business  in  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  governor  and  his  council,  of  magis- 
trates whom  they  appointed,  and  of  local  magistrates 
elected  in  the  towns.  The  eighteen  assistants  who 
made  up  the  governor's  council  held  court  for  the  trial 
of  small  cases  in  the  towns  where  they  chanced  to 
reside.  In  towns  not  thus  provided  for,  "commission- 
ers of  small  causes  "  were  chosen.  The  governor  and 
assistants  held  a  court  once  a  month,  and  four  great 


COLONIAL   COURTS.  103 

courts  were  held  during  the  year,  for  the  hearing  of 
important  cases.  As  population  -  increased,  counties 
were  organized  for  the  holding  of  courts  of  the  inter- 
mediate grade.  Under  the  charter  given  by  William 
III.,  1691,  county  courts  of  the  English  sort  were  organ- 
ized. Justices  of  the  peace  in  the  different  counties 
were  appointed  by  the  governor.  These,  in  their 
various  towns,  held  petty  sessions  for  small  cases,  and 
four  times  each  year,  in  quarter  sessions,  they  attended 
to  the  more  important  judicial  business  of  the  county. 
The  governor  and  his  council  were  still  the  highest 
court  in  the  colony  in  probate  matters.  To  attend  to 
other  judicial  business,  formerly  done  by  the  governor 
and  his  council,  a  superior  court  was  organized,  com- 
posed of  one  chief  justice  and  four  associates,  who  were 
appointed  by  the  governor. 

In  Other  Colonies.  —  The  judicial  system  of  Massa- 
chusetts, as  it  was  organized  under  the  new  charter,  may 
be  taken  as  a  type  of  the  system  of  the  colonies  gen- 
erally. The  governor  and  his  council  or  judges  ap- 
pointed by  the  governor  were  the  highest  court  in  each 
colony.  Justices  of  the  peace,  in  petty  sessions  and  in 
quarter  sessions,  formed  two  lower  courts.  Courts  of 
an  intermediate  grade,  between  the  county  court  of 
quarter  sessions  and  the  supreme  court  of  the  colony, 
arose  through  the  custom  of  having  judges  from  the 
governor's  council  or  from  the  high  court  hold  sessions 
in  the  counties. 

Separation  of  the  Judiciary.  —  The  second  charter 
of  Massachusetts  indicates  a  tendency  to  separate  judi- 
cial from  legislative  and  executive  business.  The  same 
tendency  was  promoted  by  the  appointing  of  circuit 


104  THE  ADMINISTRATION    OF  JUSTICE. 

judges  to  hold  courts  in  the  counties.  In  the  county 
court  where  judicial  and  executive  work  was  most 
thoroughly  united,  a  separation  was  effected  by  the 
election  of  county  commissioners  to  attend  to  county 
executive  business.  The  idea  of  complete  separation 
was  thoroughly  developed  before  the  Revolutionary 
War. 

Choosing  of  Judges.  —  During  the  colonial  period 
judges  were  appointed  by  the  governor  in  all  the  col- 
onies except  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut,  where  they 
were  chosen  by  the  legislature.  "  When,  in  and  after 
1776,  the  states  formed  their  first  constitutions,  four 
states,  beside  the  two  just  named,  vested  the  appoint- 
ment in  the  legislature ;  five  gave  it  to  the  governor, 
with  the  consent  of  the  council;  Delaware  gave  it  to 
the  legislature  and  the  president  (governor)  in  joint 
ballot,  while  Georgia  alone  entrusted  the  election  to 
the  people."  1  A  majority  of  the  states  now  choose 
all  judicial  officers  by  popular  election. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

STATE  COURTS. 

Three  Grades  of  Courts.  —  The  system  of  courts,  as 
finally  established  in  all  the  states,  has  at  least  three 
grades.  1.  In  the  courts  of  the  lowest  grade  the  judi- 
cial business  is  in  the  hands  of  justices  of  the  peace  in 
petty  sessions,  and  in  those  of  the  lower  police  courts 

1  Bryce :   The  American  Commonwealth. 


STATE  COURTS.  105 

of  towns  and  cities.  2.  In  some  of  the  states  there  are 
still  courts  of  quarter  sessions ;  but  in  most  states  this 
court  has  been  replaced  by  a  court  commonly  called  a 
District  or  Circuit  Court.  Where  the  court  of  quarter 
sessions  is  retained,  there  are  four  grades  in  the  system. 
3.  There  is  in  each  state  a  Supreme  Court,  or  court 
of  last  appeal,  consisting  of  a  chief  justice  and  one  or 
more  associate  justices. 

It  is  not  possible  by  a  general  description  to  give  a 
correct  view  of  the  judicial  systems  of  all  the  states. 
In  every  state  the  justice  of  the  peace  is  the  lowest 
court ;  but  in  some  states  his  powers  are  more  limited 
than  in  others.  In  nearly  every  state  the  highest  court 
of  appeal  is  called  the  Supreme  Court,  but  in  New 
York  it  is  called  the  Court  of  Appeals.  The-  system 
of  courts  intermediate  between  the  justice  of  the  peace 
and 'the  supreme  court,  varies  greatly  in  the  different 
states.  The  simplest  is  where  just  one  court,  called 
either  a  circuit  or  a  district  court,  tries  all  sorts  of  cases. 
It  is  a  criminal,  a  civil,  a  probate  court  and  a  court 
of  equity.  Departures  from  this  simplest  form  arise : 
1.  From  establishing  separate  courts  for  the  different 
sorts  of  business  ;  in  that  case  there  may  be  three  or 
four  courts  each  with  a  different  name,  and  all  of  the 
same  grade.  2.  From  having  two  grades  of  courts  for 
the  trial  of  criminal  and  civil  cases. 

Courts  of  Equity.  —  A  few  of  the  states  still  main- 
tain separate  courts  of  equity.  Equity  courts  try  a 
class  of  civil  cases  where  the  stricter  rules  followed  in 
other  courts  would  be  inadequate  to  redress  wrongs  or 
to  prevent  injustice.  Relief  is  granted  in  this  court 
that  could  not  be  given  in  a  court  of  law.  In  states 


106  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JUSTICE. 

where  there  are  not  separate  equity  courts,  ordinary 
civil  courts  try  such  cases,  applying  to  them  the  rules 
followed  in  courts  of  equity.  Equity  cases  are  those 
arising  from  partnerships  and  the  administration  of 
trusts,  or  cases  where,  on  account  of  mistake,  accident 
or  fraud,  hardship  would  be  incurred  by  a  close  adher- 
ence to  the  strict  rules  of  law. 

Tribunals  of  Arbitration.  —  Several  of  the  states, 
some  with  and  some  without  constitutional  require- 
ments, have  provided  tribunals  of  arbitration,  for  citizens 
who  choose  to  settle  their  disputes  in  that  way.  In 
some  cases  a  permanent  court  of  arbitration  is  estab- 
lished; in  others  a  method  is  adopted  by  which  the 
parties  interested  may  form  a  special  tribunal  for  the 
occasion.  In  some  states  tribunals  of  arbitration  are 
created  for  the  purpose  of  settling  disputes  between 
laborers  and  their  employers.  These  have  not  the 'full 
power  of  courts,  but  their  decisions,  when  filed  in  a 
regular  court,  may  be  enforced  like  a  decision  of  the 
court. 

Courts  of  Record.  —  The  justice  of  the  peace  is  his 
own  clerk.  His  court  is  not  a  court  of  record.  He  is 
not  permitted  to  try  a  case  which  affects  the  title  of 
real  estate.  The  records  in  a  justice's  court  are  of 
temporary  importance.  If  the  judgment  rendered  in 
his-  court  is  not  soon  executed,  it  becomes  of  no  value, 
unless  the  record  is  transferred,  as  it  may  be  in  some  of 
the  states,  to  a  court  of  record  in  the  county.  All  the 
courts  of  a  higher  grade  than  the  justice's  and  police 
courts  are  courts  of  record,  and  have  an  officer  to  keep 
the  records. 

Clerk  of  the  Courts.  —  All  the  courts  of  record,  ex- 


STATE  COURTS.  107 

cept  the  highest  court  of  the  state,  are  connected  with 
the  county.  They  are  either  county  courts  or  courts 
held  in  and  for  counties.  The  county  provides  court- 
houses, jails,  juries,  and  the  safe-keeping  of  all  the 
records.  The  officer  in  charge  of  the  records  is  called 
the  county  clerk  or  clerk  of  the  courts.  In  some  of 
the  states  one  clerk  has  charge  of  all  important  county 
records.  These  are :  1.  Of  criminal  cases,  the  penalties 
imposed  and  the  fines  collected.  2.  Of  civil  cases,  the 
judgments  rendered  and  executed.  3.  Of  wills  proved, 
and  all  matters  of  administration  and  guardianship. 
These  are  all  court  records.  4.  Of  deeds  to  real  estate 
in  the  county,  including  mortgages.  5.  As  clerk  of  the 
board  of  county  commissioners,  or  the  governing  board 
of  the  county,  he  has  the  record  of  all  legislative  and 
administrative  county  business.  6.  He  issues  marriage 
certificates  and  keeps  a  record  of  births  and  deaths. 

Variations  among:  the  States.  —  In  many  states 
some  of  the  county  records  are  kept  by  separate  officers. 
The  chief  are :  1.  A  secretary,  clerk,  recorder  or  auditor 
who  keeps  the  records  of  the  county  board.  2.  A  re- 
corder of  deeds  and  mortgages,  who  in  some  cases  has, 
in  addition,  the  care  of  the  records  concerning  wills  and 
matters  of  guardianship.  The  recording  of  deeds  and 
of  births  and  deaths  in  some  states  is  in  the  hands  of 
a  township  officer. 

Decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court.  —  The  chief  busi- 
ness of  the  Supreme  Court  is  to  hear  appeals  from  the 
lower  courts  on  points  of  law.  It  reviews  the  action 
of  the  lower  court,  and  may  reverse  its  decision  on  ac- 
count of  errors  in  the  application  of  the  law.  When 
the  supreme  court  has  decided  a  point  in  law,  the  lower 


108  THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  JUSTICE. 

courts  in  the  state  are  required  to  follow  its  decisions, 
The  clerk  of  the  supreme  court  has  duties  correspond- 
ing to  those  of  the  county  clerk.  He  is  a  state  officer, 
and  is  either  elected  by  the  people,  appointed  by  the 
court,  or  appointed  by  the  governor. 

Supreme  Court  Reporter.  —  The  decisions  given  by 
lower  courts  are  placed  on  record.  These  records  are 
open  to  the  examination  of  the  public,  but  are  not  pub- 
lished. The  reports  of  the  decisions  rendered  by  the 
Supreme  Court  are  much  more  elaborate.  The  judges 
give  their  opinions  in  writing,  and  the  case  is  explained 
and  argued  at  length.  Often  the  judges  do  not  agree. 
A  majority  may  unite  in  giving  the  decision,  and  a 
minority  may  file  a  dissenting  opinion.  Besides  the 
clerk,  the  Supreme  Court  has  another  officer,  called  the 
reporter,  whose  duty  it  is  to  prepare  for  publication 
the  decisions  of  the  court.  These  are  published  for  the 
benefit  of  the  lower  courts,  and  for  the  use  of  attorneys 
and  others  interested  in  the  administration  of  justice. 

The  courts  of  one  state  are  not  required  to  follow 
the  rulings  of  the  supreme  court  of  another  state ;  yet 
these  rulings  are  constantly  quoted  in  the  trial  of  cases, 
and  influence  the  decisions. 

Prosecuting-  Attorney. — In  each  county  or  group 
of  counties  forming  a  judicial  district,  there  is  a  law 
officer,  called  in  the  various  states  by  different  names, 
some  of  whose  duties  are :  1.  To  present  cases  to  the 
grand  jury  for  their  action,  and  to  draw  indictments 
against  those  whom  the  jury  decide  to  indict.  2.  To 
appear  on  behalf  of  the  state  in  the  trial.  3.  To  ap- 
pear on  behalf  of  the  county  in  all  suits  in  which  the 
county  or  its  officers  are  involved.  4.  To  give  advice 


FEDERAL   COURTS.  109 

on  questions  of  law  to  county  officers  and  to  justices  of 
the  peace  in  the  county. 

The  Attorney  General.  —  The  Attorney  General  is 
a  state  officer  whose  duties  correspond  in  many  respects 
to  those  of  the  law  officer  of  the  county.  1.  He  appears 
on  behalf  of  the  state  in  all  suits  in  the  supreme  court 
in  which  the  state  is  a  party.  2.  He  is  required  to 
give  advice  on  points  of  law  to  state  officers.  3.  In 
some  states  he  is  required  to  give  advice  in  writing  on 
legal  constitutional  questions  presented  to  him  by  the 
legislature.  4.  He  may  be  required  'to  prosecute  a 
defaulting  treasurer  or  other  officer  in  charge  of  state 
funds.  5.  In  some  states  he  is  prosecuting  attorney  in 
the  trial  of  capital  crimes. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

FEDERAL   COURTS. 

Commissioners   of    the    Circuit    Courts.  —  For    the 

trial  of-  cases  arising  under  the  Constitution  and  laws 
of  the  United  States,  the  federal  government  maintains 
a  system  of  courts  similar  to  those  maintained  by  the 
several  states.  The  most  widely  distributed  of  the 
judicial  officers  of  the  United  States  are  the  commis- 
sioners of  its  circuit  courts.  Each  circuit  judge  is  em- 
powered by  law  to  appoint  as  many  discreet  persons 
as  he  may  deem  necessary  to  serve  as  commissioners. 
They  perform  various  duties,  the  chief  of  which  are 
assisting  the  district  and  circuit  courts  in  taking  evi- 


110  THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  JUSTICE. 

dence  to  be  used  in  trials,  and  arresting  and  holding 
for  trial  persons  accused  of  crime  against  the  United 
States. 

State  Officers  as  Commissioners.  —  As  a  justice  of 
the  peace  may  arrest,  examine,  and  commit  for  trial 
persons  accused  of  crime  against  the  state,  a  commis- 
sioner of  the  circuit  court  of  the  United  States  does 
this  work  for  the  federal  government.  In  most  parts 
of  the  country  the  violation  of  a  law  of  the  United 
States  is  rare ;  but  when  it  occurs,  there  is  need  of  an 
officer  at  hand,  with  authority  to  arrest  and  hold  the 
offender.  A  few  hours,  or  a  few  minutes,  may  make  a 
great  difference  in  catching  a  criminal.  To  meet  this 
occasional  want  without  multiplying  officers,  a  law  of  the 
United  States  provides  that  in  addition  to  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  circuit  courts,  who  have  this  as  a  special 
duty,  any  judge  or  magistrate  of  either  the  state  or  the 
federal  government  may  order  the  arrest  of  a  person 
charged  with  crime  against  the  United  States.  This 
may  seem  to  be  in  conflict  with  the  statement  that  the 
state  government  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  punish- 
ment of  a  crime  against  the  federal  government.  There 
is,  however,  no  real  conflict  between  the  statements ; 
for  a  state  officer,  when  he  arrests  a  person  for  a  federal 
crime,  is  acting,  not  as  a  state  officer,  but  as  a  federal 
officer.  If  a  bank  is  robbed,  the  suspected  person  is 
accused  before  a  justice  of  the  peace,  is  arrested  by  his 
order,  examined,  and  sent  to  jail.  If  the  United  States 
mail  is  robbed,  the  suspected  person  may  be  accused 
before  the  same  officer,  and  treated  in  the  same  way. 
But  in  the  latter  case,  the  justice  is  not  acting  as  a 
local  township  or  county  officer ;  he  is  acting  as  a 


FEDERAL   COURTS.  Ill 

United  States  officer;  he  has  for  this  purpose  the 
powers  of  a  commissioner  of  the  circuit  court  of  the 
United  States.  In  this  service  he  is  responsible  to 
the  federal  government  alone ;  the  state  government 
has  no  power  or  control  over  him. 

The  Habeas  Corpus.  —  We  have,  then,  two  govern- 
ments, with  officers  in  almost  every  township  in  the 
land,  empowered  to  seize  any  person  and  cast  him  into 
prison.  It  is  well  that  this  is  so.  The  good  order  of 
society  requires  that  violators  of  law,  state  or  federal, 
be  punished.  To  do  this,  the  government  must  have 
power  to  seize  and  hold  for  trial  any  person  against 
whom  there  is  evidence  of  crime.  In  this  way  inno- 
cent persons  are  sometimes  sent  to  jail.  Any  one 
who  deems  himself  unlawfully  imprisoned,  may  secure 
the  benefit  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  by  applying 
to  either  a  state  or  a  federal  judge  for  release.  If,  on 
examination,  he  is  found  to  be  lawfully  held,  he  is 
remitted  to  jail,  otherwise  he  is  set  free. 

District  Courts.  —  The  lowest  regular  court  in  the 
federal  system  is  the  district  court.  The  commissioner 
of  the  circuit  court  may  attend  to  some  judicial  busi- 
ness, but  cannot  try  a  case.  There  is  a  district  judge 
in  every  state  in  the  Union.  Some  of  the  states  are 
divided  into  two  districts,  and  have  two  district  judges ; 
New  York  and  Texas  have  three  each.  There  are  for 
the  entire  Union  about  sixty  judicial  districts.  The 
number  of  district  judges  is  somewhat  less,  since  in  a 
few  instances  one  judge  supplies  two  or  more  districts. 
The  number  may  be  changed  at  any  time  by  Congress. 

The  district  court  may  try  any  crime  against  the 
United  States  committed  within  the  district,  except 


112  THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  JUSTICE. 

those  punishable  by  death.  A  great  variety  of  civil 
cases  arising  in  the  administration  of  federal  laws  may 
be  tried  in  this  court.  Associated  with  every  district 
court  there  is  a  district  attorney,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
appear  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  in  all  suits  where 
the  government  is  a  party. 

Circuit  Courts.  —  Intermediate  between  the  district 
court  and  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  is 
the  circuit  court.  The  entire  Union  is  divided  into 
nine  circuits,  for  each  of  which  a  circuit  judge  is  ap- 
pointed. He  holds  a  court  in  each  district  of  his 
circuit,  either  alone  or  with  the  district  judge.  The 
circuit  court  is  often  held  by  a  district  judge,  or  by 
two  district  judges  sitting  together.  It  is  the  duty  also 
of  the  nine  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  to  distribute 
the  nine  circuits  among  themselves,  and  to  hold  a  court 
in  each  at  least  once  in  two  years.  In  holding  this 
court,  the  justice  may  have  associated  with  him  the  cir- 
cuit judge  or  a  district  judge  of  the  locality.  The 
court  which  is  thus  held  is  an  important  session  of 
the  circuit  court.  In  this  court  there  may  be  brought 
together  judges  from  the  three  federal  courts. 

Court  of  Appeals.  —  All  appeals  were  formerly 
carried  from  the  district  and  circuit  courts  to  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  In  this  way  the 
Supreme  Court  came  to  have  more  business  than  it 
could  manage.  To  relieve  this  Court,  Congress  has 
established  in  each  of  the  nine  circuits  a  Court  of 
Appeals.  The  more  important  cases  from  the  lower 
courts  are  still  carried  to  the  Supreme  Court.  The 
less  important  are  carried  to  the  Court  of  Appeals. 

Supreme  Court. —  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  as  now  organized,  consists  of  a  chief  justice  and 


CASES  AT  LAW.  113 

eight  associate  justices.  Besides  hearing  cases  of  appeal 
from  the  lower  courts,  the  Supreme  Court  has  original 
jurisdiction  in  all  cases  affecting  foreign  ministers  and 
consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  state  is  party.  f 


CHAPTER  XX. 

CASES   AT   LAW. 

Three  Sorts  of  Cases.  —  Legal  business  is  ordinarily 
classified  under  three  heads :  1.  Criminal  cases  are 
those  whose  object  is  the  infliction  of  some  penalty  for 
the  violation  of  law.  In  a  criminal  suit  one  "of  the 
parties  is  always  the  state,  the  government,  or  the 
people.  The  state  makes  the  complaint  and  is  called 
the  plaintiff,  and  the  party  charged  with  crime  is  called 
the  defendant.  Petty  crimes  are  tried  in  the  justice's 
court ;  more  serious  crimes  are  tried  in  the  intermediate 
courts.  2.  Civil  cases  are  such  as  arise  between  citizens 
in  the  enforcement  of  contracts,  and  in  securing  dam- 
ages for  injuries.  The  aggrieved  party,  or  the  one  who 
begins  the  suit,  is  called  the  plaintiff,  and  the  other  is 
the  defendant.  3.  Probate  business  relates  to  the  prov- 
ing of  wills,  the  settling  of  the  estates  of  deceased  per- 
sons, and  the  guardianship  of  minors  and  other  persons 
legally  disqualified  to  manage  their  own  affairs.  In  the 
transaction  of  probate  business,  contests  or  suits  some- 
times arise  between  the  parties,  but  the  greater  part  of 
the  business  involves  no  contest. 

Criminal   Processes,  —  The   action    of   the    various 


114  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JUSTICE. 

judicial  agencies  may  be  made  clear  by  illustrations, 
We  will  suppose  that  a  burglary  has  been  committed. 
Such  a  case  may  involve  the  following  legal  acts :  com- 
plaint, warrant,  preliminary  examination,  bail,  indict- 
ment, arraignment,  trial,  appeal. 

The  Complaint.  —  1.  The  first  business  is  to  find 
indications  of  who  committed  the  crime.  So  soon  as 
sufficient  evidence  is  discovered,  some  one  who  is  inter- 
ested in  having  the  crime  punished  will  go  before  a 
justice  of  the  peace  in  the  county,  and  file  a  "  com- 
plaint," or,  as  it  is  called  in  some  states,  an  "infor- 
mation "  or  "affidavit."  This  record  alleges  that  A.  B. 
(the  supposed  criminal)  is  accused  of  the  crime  of 
burglary,  because  at  a  certain  time  and  place  he  com- 
mitted certain  described  acts.  In  some  of  the  states 
there  is  an  officer  whose  duty  it  is  to  file  all  complaints 
in  criminal  prosecutions ;  but  in  most  of  the  states 
there  is  no  such  officer,  and  the  complaint  is  made  by 
any  citizen  who  wishes  to  vindicate  the  law ;  usually  by 
the  person  who  is  chiefly  injured. 

The  Warrant.  —  2.  Immediately  upon  the  filing  of 
the  complaint,  the  justice  issues  a  warrant  for  the  arrest 
of  the  supposed  criminal.  The  warrant  is  directed  to 
a  ministerial  or  peace  officer  in  the  state.  It  states 
that  a  complaint  has  been  filed  alleging  that  the  crime 
of  burglary  has  been  committed  at  a  certain  time  and 
place,  and  charging  A.  B.  therewith.  "  It  orders  the 
peace  officer  immediately  to  arrest  the  said  A.  B.  and 
bring  him  into  court. 

Preliminary  Examination.  —  3.  A  justice  of  the 
peace  cannot  try  a  case  of  burglary.  He  may  hold  a 
preliminary  examination.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  one 


CASES  AT  LAW.  115 

who  filed  the  complaint  to  furnish  evidence  of  the 
guilt  of  the  person  accused,  and  the  accused  may  pre- 
sent counter-evidence.  If  the  justice  is  convinced  that 
the  accused  is  probably  guilty,  it  is  his  duty  to  order 
the  accused  to  be  held  until  the  meeting  of  the  grand 
jury. 

Bail. — 4.  Except  in  the  case  of  the  most  serious 
crimes,  the  accused  has  a  right  to  avoid  going  to  jail 
by  giving  bail;  that  is,  by  getting  responsible  citizens 
to  agree  to  pay  to  the  government  a  specified  sum  of 
money  if  he  should  not  appear  at  the  command  of  the 
court.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  justice  to  inform  the 
accused  of  his  right  to  bail,  and  to  fix  the  amount. 

The  Indictment.  —  5.  The  grand  jury  attends  the 
meetings  of  the  court  having  jurisdiction  over  .serious 
crimes.  The  evidence  tending  to  establish  the  theory 
of  guilt  is  presented.  If  in  the  opinion  of  the  grand 
jury,  the  evidence  will  result  in  the  conviction  of  the 
accused,  it  is  their  duty  to  indict  him  ;  that  is,  to  present 
a  formal  charge  against  him,  which  is  usually  drawn  by 
the  prosecuting  attorney.  The  grand  jury  may  indict 
persons  not  previously  held  to  appear  by  a  magistrate. 
In  such  a  case  there  is  no  complaint  or  preliminary 
examination ;  the  arrest  is  made  by  order  of  the  court 
after  the  indictment  of  the  grand  jury. 

The  Arraignment.  —  6.  The  accused  is  brought  be- 
fore the  court  and  the  indictment  is  read  to  him.  He 
is  asked  whether  he  has  been  indicted  by  his  right 
name.  He  is  also  asked  whether  he  is  guilty  or  not 
guilty  of  the  crime  charged  in  the  indictment.  Before 
he  answers  this  question  he  is  entitled  to  the  benefit  of 
counsel.  If  he  is  unable  to  secure  counsel,  the  court 


116  THE  ADMINISTRATION    OF  JUSTICE. 

appoints  counsel  for  him.  If  the  accused  answers 
"guilty,"  the  court  sentences  him  to  punishment  ac- 
cording to  law.  If  he  answers  "  not  guilty,"  a  time  is 
set  for  the  trial.  The  answer  which  the  accused  makes 
of  guilty  or  not  guilty  is  called  his  plea. 

The  Trial.  —  7.  The  object  of  the  trial  is  to  ascertain 
the  guilt  or  the  innocence  of  the  accused.  The  form  of 
procedure  differs  in  the  different  states,  but  there  are 
usually  the  following  stages :  — 

1.  The  Empanelling"  of  a  Jury.  —  The  clerk  draws 
twelve  names  from  the  list  of  jurors  who  have  been 
called  to  attend  the  sitting  of  the  court.     The  accused, 
as  well  as  the  attorney  for  the  state,  may  object  to  any 
of  the  persons  selected,  for  reasons  recognized  by  law. 
This  is  called  challenging  the  jurors  for  cause.     A  cer- 
tain number  may  be  excluded  by  peremptory  challenge ; 
that  is,  a  challenge  without  assigning  any  reason.     If 
the  list  of  jurors  in  the  hands  of  the  clerk  is  exhausted, 
the  sheriff  is  directed  to  summon  by-standers  until  the 
panel  of  twelve  jurors  is    completed.     The  jurors  are 
then  sworn  to  decide  the  case  according  to  the  evidence 
and  the  law,  as  given  them  by  the  court. 

2.  The    Testimony.  —  Having  been  sworn,  the  jury 
listen  to  the  testimony.     In  many  states  the  counsel  for 
the  state  begins  by  giving  to  the  court  and  the  jury  an 
outline  of  the  evidence  upon  which  he  relies  for  con- 
viction.     Then  the  witnesses  for  the  state  are  sworn 
and  examined  by  him,  and  cross-examined  by  the  coun- 
sel for  the  defendant.     The  counsel  for  the  defendant 
may  then  give  an  outline  of  the  evidence  for  the  de- 
fendant, to  be  followed  by  the  witnesses   themselves. 
The  state  may  introduce  rebutting  testimony. 


CASES  AT  LAW.  117 

3.  The   Arguments.  --  When  the    evidence  has  all 
been  given,  the  counsel  on  each  side  presents  an  argu- 
ment, to  secure  from  the  jury  a  verdict  in  his  favor. 
The  order  of  these  addresses  is  not  the  same  in  all  the 
states.     In  some  the  last  address  is  for  the  defendant, 
and  in  others  for  the  state. 

4.  Instruction  from  the  Court.  —  The  court  then  in- 
structs the  jury  on  the  law  applicable  to  the  case.     The 
jury  are  informed  that  they  are  the  judges  of  the  facts 
and  the  testimony ;  that  if  they  find  from  the  testimony 
that  such  and  such  are  the  facts,  it  will  be  their  duty 
to  bring  in  a  verdict  of  guilty  as  charged ;  but  that  if 
from  the  testimony  they  find  the  facts  to  be  thus,  then 
it  is  their  duty  to  render  a  verdict  of  not  guilty.     Or  a 
state  of  facts  may  be  set  forth,  in  view  of  which  the 
jury  may  find  the  accused  guilty  of  a  crime  less  than 
the  one  charged  in  the  indictment. 

5.  The   Verdict.  —  The  jury   may,  while  sitting  in 
their  places,  confer  together  and  agree  upon  a  verdict. 
In  case  they  do   not  thus   agree,  they  are  placed  in 
charge  of  an  officer,  and  are  kept  together  in  a  room  by 
themselves  until  a  verdict  is  reached,  or  until  it  becomes 
manifest  that  they  are  unable  to  agree.     If  they  fail  to 
agree,  a  new  trial  may  be  had.     If  they  bring  in  a  ver- 
dict of  not  guilty,  the  defendant  is  set  at  liberty,  and 
he  cannot  be  tried  again  for  the  same  offence. 

6.  The  Sentence.  —  If  the  jury  return  to  the  court 
with  the  verdict  of  guilty,  it  then  becomes  the  duty  of 
the  court  to  sentence  the  prisoner ;  that  is,  to  tell  him 
in  open  court  what  his  punishment  shall  be.     In  some 
cases  the  law  determines  the  exact  penalty ;  in  others, 
a  measure  of  discretion  is  left  to  the  court.     For  the 


118  THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  JUSTICE. 

crime  of  burglary  the  penalty  is  imprisonment  at  hard 
labor  in  state's  prison  for  a  term  of  years.  After  sen- 
tence, the  sheriff  conveys  the  convict  to  prison  and 
delivers  him  into  the  hands  of  the  keeper. 

7.  Appeals.  —  The  accused  having  been  sentenced, 
his  counsel  may  file  a  bill  of  exception  to  the  rulings 
of  the  court,  and  may  appeal  to  the  higher  court.  The 
higher  court  does  not  try  the  case  anew ;  it  simply  re- 
views the  action  of  the  lower  court  on  matters  of  law. 
If  it  finds  that  errors  have  been  committed,  it  may  set 
aside  the  decision,  which  makes  a  new  trial  necessary 
before  the  accused  can  be  punished.  If  an  appeal  is 
taken,  the  accused  is  kept  in  the  county  jail  or  held 
under  bail  until  it  is  decided. 

Civil  Cases.  —  In  criminal  suits  the  plaintiff,  or  the 
party  bringing  the  action,  is  the  state,  or  the  people. 
But  in  a  civil  suit  both  plaintiff  and  defendant  are 
usually  individuals  or  corporations.  The  method  of 
beginning  the  action  is  not  the  same  in  all  the  states. 
The  plaintiff  in  some  way,  by  filing  a  petition  with  the 
clerk  of  the  court,  or  by  filing  an  order  or  a  complaint, 
or  by  serving  an  original  notice,  makes  known  to  the 
defendant  that  on  a  certain  day  of  a  certain  term  of 
court,  suit  will  be  brought  for  the  recovery  of  a  speci- 
fied sum  of  money,  which  is  due  for  such  and  such  a 
consideration.  If  the  defendant  does  not  appear  either 
in  person  or  by  counsel,  and  object  to  the  claim,  judg- 
ment is  rendered  against  him  and  no  contest  occurs. 
If  he  appears,  he  makes  a  written  answer  to  the  petition 
in  which  he  alleges  that  the  claim  is  not  due,  or  that  it 
has  been  paid,  or  that  it  is  in  some  way  defective.  The 
trial  ensues  upon  the  issue  raised  by  the  plaintiff's  peti- 
tion and  the  defendant's  answer. 


GOVERNMENT  OFFICERS.  119 

If  either  party  demands  it,  a  jury  is  empanelled  to 
determine  questions  of  fact.  Otherwise  the  court  de- 
cides all  questions  both  of  law  and  fact. 

An  appeal  may  be  had  by  either  party. 

When  a  judgment  is  rendered  against  the  defendant, 
an  officer  has  authority  to  procure  the  money  due,  by 
seizing  and  selling  any  property  of  the  defendant  not 
exempted  by  law. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

COURTS   AND   OTHER   GOVERNMENT   OFFICERS. 

Control  of  Public  Officers.  —  A  large  part  of  judi- 
cial business  is  such  as  arises  in  the  punishment  of 
criminals,  and  in  settling  disputes  between  citizens. 
But  courts  are  also  closely  connected  with  the  execu- 
tive business  of  government  through  their  power  over 
its  officers. 

Mandamus.  —  Civil  officers  may  neglect  to  perform 
the  duties  prescribed  by  law.  Upon  the  application  of 
any  citizen,  who  is  interested  in  the  matter,  a  court  may 
issue  an  order  commanding  the  officers  to  perform  a 
specific  duty.  Such  an  order  is  called  a  mandamus,  a 
word  meaning  "  we  command."  If  the  officers  still 
refuse  to  act,  they  may  be  sent  to  prison  for  contempt 
of  court.  The  mandamus  is  used  most  frequently  when 
the  officers  of  -a  town,  city,  or  county  refuse  to  levy  a 
tax  to  pay  the  debts  of  the  government. 

Injunction.  —  An  injunction  is  an  order  from  a  court 
restraining  an  officer  or  person  from  the  doing  of  some 


120  THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  JUSTICE. 

specified  wrong.  The  officers  of  a  city  may  have  levied 
an  unlawful  tax.  An  interested  taxpayer  may  secure 
an  injunction  to  prevent  the  tax  from  being  collected. 

The  mandamus  and  the  injunction  are  used  against 
officers  in  such  cases  only  as  are  not  conveniently 
reached  by  ordinary  prosecution.  Officers  are  individ- 
ually responsible  for  their  acts,  and  they  are  subject  to 
both  criminal  and  civil  prosecution  for  neglect  of  duty 
and  for  injuries  done  contrary  to  law. 

Government  Sued.  —  The  school  district,  town, 
township,  city,  county,  state,  and  the  United  States  may 
each,  under  certain  conditions,  be  sued  in  courts  of  law. 
One  characteristic  of  a  municipal  corporation  is  its 
power  to  sue  and  be  sued.  In  some  states  this  power 
is  not  given  to  school  districts  or  townships.  While  all 
these  governments  may  be  sued  there  is  a  vast  differ- 
ence in  their  relation  to  the  courts. 

Local  Governments  within  the  State  completely 
Subject  to  the  Orders  of  Courts.  —  A  dispute  may 
arise  between  counties  as  to  which  is  responsible  for 
the  maintenance  of  a  certain  pauper.  One  county  may 
bring  an  action  in  a  state  court  having  jurisdiction,  and 
the  county  losing  the  suit  would  be  compelled  to  sup- 
port the  pauper.  A  citizen  may  receive  an  injury  on 
account  of  a  defect  in  a  sidewalk  or  a  bridge,  and  the 
town,  city,  or  county,  responsible  for  the  sidewalk  or 
bridge,  if  proven  in  a  court  to  be  negligent,  may  be 
compelled  to  pay  damages.  The  various  local  govern- 
ments may  have  power  to  borrow  money  and  issue 
bonds.  If  the  bonds  are  not  paid  when  due,  the  holder 
may  bring  suit  in  a  state  court  and  compel  payment. 
Or,  if  the  holder  is  a  citizen  of  another  state,  he  may 


GOVERNMENT  OFFICERS.  121 

bring  suit  in  a  federal  court,  and  compel  payment. 
Either  a  state  or  a  federal  court  may  require  the  local 
taxing  officers  to  levy  a  tax  to  pay  off  a  judgment,  on 
penalty  of  being  punished  for  contempt  of  court.  When 
judgment  is  rendered  against  an  individual,  the  court 
orders  his  property  to  be  seized  to  satisfy  the  judgment. 
A  town,  city,  or  county  ordinarily  has  no  property 
which  may  be  legally  seized.  The  only  way  to  compel 
payment  from  such  a  body  is  to  order  the  levy  of  a  tax. 
The  Memphis  Case.  —  The  city  of  Memphis,  Ten- 
nessee, became  deeply  involved  in  debt.  There  were 
suits  in  the  courts  for  the  enforcement  of  payment. 
The  legislature  of  Tennessee  abolished  the  municipal 
corporation  of  Memphis.  The  courts  held  that  there 
was  then  no  way  in  which  the  payment  of  the  debts 
could  be  enforced.  The  property  of  citizens  was  not 
liable  to  seizure,  and  there  was  no  public  property 
liable.  The  Memphis  corporation  was  an  agent  of  the 
state,  created  by  the  act  of  the  state,  and  the  legislature 
had  a  right  to  abolish  it.  Afterwards  the  legislature 
gave  to  Memphis  new  corporate  powers,  and  expressly 
declared  that  the  new  corporation  was  not  empowered 
to  levy  a  tax  for  the  debts  of  the  former.  But  the  courts 
held  that  the  new  corporation  was  liable  for  the  debts 
of  the  old  ;  that  the  part  of  the  statute  declaring  the 
new  corporation  not  liable,  and  denying  to  it  the  power 
to  tax  for  the  payment  of  the  former  debts,  was  in  con- 
flict with  the  United  States  Constitution,  which  forbids 
a  state  to  make  any  law  impairing  the  obligation  of 
contracts.  The  new  city  officers  were  therefore  subject 
to  the  same  penalties  as  the  old,  for  refusing  to  vote  a 
tax. 


122  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JUSTICE. 

Suing  a  State.  —  The  states  borrow  money  and  issue 
bonds.  If  the  legislature  refuse  to  levy  a  tax  for  their 
payment,  there  is  no  power  in  the  state  to  force  it  to  do 
so.  The  courts  may  order  county  commissioners,  city 
councils,  and  school  boards  to  levy  taxes,  because  these 
are  subordinate  agents  of  the  state ;  but  the  legislature 
is  not  a  subordinate  agent.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the 
state  has  no  direct  power  over  it.  If  the  legislature 
violates  the  constitution,  the  courts  may  refuse  to  en- 
force an  unconstitutional  act ;  but  the  Supreme  Court 
may  not  issue  an  injunction  to  prevent  it  from  violating 
the  constitution ;  neither  can  it  issue  a  mandamus,  and 
compel  it  to  act.  The  states  by  special  statutes  may 
allow  themselves  to  be  sued  in  the  state  courts  for  cer- 
tain purposes.  But  the  legislature,  although  by  mak- 
ing the  law  it  has  consented  to  the  suit,  may  prevent 
the  execution  of  a  judgment  by  refusing  to  appropriate 
money. 

States  and  Federal  Courts.  —  The  Eleventh  Amend- 
ment to  the  Constitution  deprives  a  citizen  of  another 
state,  or  a  citizen  of  a  foreign  state,  of  the  privilege  of 
suing  a  state  in  a  federal  court.  One  state  may  sue 
another  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  but 
states  have  little  dealing  with  each  other,  and  cases  for 
litigation  do  not  often  arise.-  There  is  nothing  in  the 
Constitution  to  prevent  the  federal  government  from 
suing  a  state  in  the  Supreme  Court,  but  it  has  never 
been  done.  If  the  states  were  agents  of  the  federal 
government,  as  counties  are  of  the  states,  they  would 
often  be  sued,  and  their  action  would  be  forced  by  the 
decree  of  a  court.  The  states  are  not  agents  of  the 
United  States  government.  Even  where  the  action  of 


GOVERNMENT  OFFICERS.  123 

a  state  has  been  in  violation  of  the  Constitution,  laws, 
or  treaties  of  the  United  States,  the  federal  courts  have 
not  attempted  to  reverse  it  by  direct  command.  They 
have  never  issued  an  injunction  or  a  mandamus  against 
a  state  legislature. 

The  Case  of  Missouri  and  Iowa.  —  Some  instances 
have  occurred  where  a  boundary  dispute  between  two 
states  has  been  settled  by  a  suit  in  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States.  The  constitution  of  Missouri 
fixes  the  northern  boundary  of  the  state  on  a  parallel 
passing  through  the  rapids  of  the  Des  Moines  River. 
The  people  of  the  territory  of  Iowa  held  that  the  Des 
Moines  River  rapids  were  several  miles  south  of  the 
point  fixed  by  the  people  of  Missouri.  Settlements 
were  made  in  the  disputed  territory,  and  in  course  of 
time,  a  sheriff  from  Missouri  tried  to  serve  a  writ  on  a 
man  who  claimed  to  live  in  Davis  County,  Iowa.  Great 
excitement  ensued.  The  governor  of  Iowa  ordered  out 
the  militia  to  defend  the  territory.  The  governor  of 
Missouri  likewise  took  measures  to  vindicate  the  author- 
ity of  the  state.  Before  proceeding  to  shed  blood,  it 
occurred  to  each  of  the  governors  that  it  would  be  wise 
to  have  a  conference,  and  seek  some  other  method  of 
settlement.  The  conference  resulted  in  an  agreement 
to  make  up  a  case  for  the  Supreme  Court,  which  would 
involve  the  location  of  the  Des  Moines  River  rapids. 
This  took  the  form  of  a  suit  brought  by  the  state  of 
Missouri  against  the  territory  of  Iowa.  The  court 
decided  the  question  of  geography  in  favor  of  Iowa,  and 
there  was  no  further  trouble  in  the  matter. 

Repudiating  States.  —  If  a  state  pass  a  law  by 
which  contracts  between  citizens  are  made  invalid,  the 


124  THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  JUSTICE. 

citizen  may  go  into  a  federal  court  and  enforce  his  con- 
tract notwithstanding.  The  law  is  held  to  be  void 
because  it  violates  the  Constitution.  But  a  state  may 
refuse  to  fulfil  its  own  contracts,  and  the  courts  furnish 
no  relief.  States  have  borrowed  money  and  issued 
bonds,  and  have  refused  to  pay  the  bonds  when  due. 
A  state  court  cannot  force  a  state  legislature.  Bond- 
holders are  citizens,  and  a  citizen  cannot  sue  a  state  in 
a  federal  court.  There  is  one  form  of  contract  into 
which  some  of  the  states  have  entered,  which  the  courts 
have  maintained  against  hostile  state  action.  In  the 
days  of  state  banks  certain  states,  which  were  owners  of 
bank-stock,  passed  laws  enacting  that  the  bills  of  the 
state  bank  should  be  accepted  for  taxes  due  the  state. 
Afterwards  the  legislatures  passed  laws  requiring  taxes 
to  be  paid  in  other  kinds  of  money.  The  United  States 
Supreme  Court  held  that  the  latter  laws  were  uncon- 
stitutional and  void.  The  holders  of  the  bank  bills  could 
still  pay  their  taxes  with  them.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
this  decision  involved  no  forcing  of  the  legislature.  It 
simply  protected  the  citizen  from  having  his  property 
taken  for  taxes,  after  he  had  tendered  the  bills  in  pay- 
ment. 

The  Virginia  Bond  Case.  —  The  state  of  Virginia 
issued  bonds  with  coupons,  which  were  to  be  torn  off 
and  presented  for  the  collection  of  the  interest  when 
due.  The  law  also  provided  that  the  coupons  be  ac- 
cepted by  the  state  in  the  payment  of  taxes.  The  legis- 
lature afterwards  passed  a  law  forbidding  the  accept- 
ance of  the  coupons.  The  Supreme  Court  ruled  that 
this  law  was  unconstitutional.  Then  the  legislature 
passed  a  law  requiring  the  coupons  to  be  received  by 


GOVERNMENT  OFFICERS:  125 

tax-collectors,  but  requiring  the  payment  of  money  at 
the  same  time.  The  taxpayer  could  afterwards  recover 
his  money  by  bringing  an  action  in  a  Virginia  court, 
and  convincing  a  jury  that  the  coupons  were  genuine. 
The  excuse  alleged  for  this  provision  was  that  fraud- 
ulent coupons  were  presented.  The  Supreme  Court 
sustained  this  law,  and  the  effect  has  been  to  nullify 
the  original  law. 

Suing1  the  United  States.  —  If  the  power  to  sue  a 
state  is  limited,  the  power  to  sue  the  United  States  is 
much  more  limited.  The  United  States  cannot  be  sued 
in  any  state  court.  Congress  might  follow  the  example 
of  many  states,  and  permit  suits  to  be  brought  in  cer- 
tain cases  in  the  federal  courts  against  the  federal  gov- 
ernment, but  no  such  law  has  been  passed,  and  without 
it  suit  cannot  be  brought.  Congress  has  established  a 
special  court,  called  the  Court  of  Claims,  in  which  action 
may  be  brought  for  the  collection  of  a  certain  class  of 
claims,  such  as  would  otherwise  be  presented  to  Con- 
gress for  settlement.  It  is  only  in  this  rather  unimpor- 
tant court  that  the  United  States  can  be  sued.  If  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  compel  a  state  by  judicial  process 
to  pay  its  debts,  it  is  entirely  impossible  to  compel  the 
United  States  to  do  so.  It  is  because  the  United  States 
never  has  repudiated  a  contract,  that  it  can  borrow 
money  on  terms  most  favorable  to  its  taxpayers. 


126  THE0 ADMINISTRATION  OF  JUSTICE. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

FEDERAL  JUDICIAL  BUSINESS. 

Cases  in  State  Courts.  —  There  are  less  than  a  hun- 
dred federal  judges,  and  there  are  many  thousands  of 
state  judicial  officers.  A  large  majority  of  the  cases  at 
law  are  tried  in  state  courts.  If  only  state  laws  are  in- 
volved in  the  case,  the  federal  courts  can  have  nothing 
to  do  with  it.  Ordinary  crimes,  such  as  assault,  theft, 
and  murder,  can  be  tried  only  in  state  courts.  In  like 
manner,  nearly  all  cases  arising  in  the  administration  of 
school  laws,  laws  concerning  paupers,  highways,  state 
taxation,  the  laws  for  the  government  of  cities,  and  the 
holding  of  elections,  are  triable  in  state  courts  alone. 
It  is  only  when  some  provision  of  the  federal  Constitu- 
tion, or  some  act  of  the  United  States  government  is 
involved,  that  a  federal  court  can  act. 

Cases  exclusively  Federal.  —  A  state  court  cannot 
try  cases  arising  in  the  administration  of  federal  laws. 
Congress  alone  has  made  laws  concerning  post-offices, 
patent-rights,  and  copy-rights,  and  the  collection  of 
federal  revenues.  Offences  against  these  laws  or  suits 
arising  in  their  administration  are  tried  only  in  federal 
courts.  In  a  preceding  chapter  it  has  been  shown  that 
suits  between  states  can  be  tried  only  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States.  The  Constitution  also 
requires  that  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  ministers  and 
consuls  be  tried  in  the  same  court. 

Optional  Cases.  —  If  the  duties  of  the  two  sets  of 
courts  ended  with  the  cases  described,  state  courts  in- 


FEDERAL   JUDICIAL  BUSINESS.  127 

terpreting  state  laws,  and  federal  courts  federal  laws, 
there  could  be  no  conflict  between  them.  But  the  two 
governments  have  for  their  subjects  the  same  people, 
and  the  division  of  business  is  not  so  complete  as  to 
prevent  interference.  Congress  has  made  a  law  to 
punish  counterfeiting.  The  states  have  done  the  same. 
A  counterfeiter  is  therefore  subject  to  punishment  by 
two  distinct  authorities.  A  constitutional  provision  for- 
bids that  a  person  be  tried  twice  for  the  same  offence. 
When  warrants  have  issued  from  two  courts  for  the 
same  person  at  the  same  time,  the  government  which 
succeeded  in  catching  the  accused  has  been  permitted 
to  try  and  punish  him. 

Removals  from  State  Courts.  —  The  Constitution 
gives  to  federal  courts  jurisdiction  in  controversies :  (1) 
between  citizens  of  different  states,  (2)  between  citi- 
zens of  the  same  state  claiming  lands  under  grants  of 
different  states,  and  (3)  between  a  citizen  of  a  state 
and  foreign  states,  citizens  or  subjects. 

In  all  these  cases  the  plaintiff  may  begin  the  action 
in  a  federal  court,  but  he  is  not  required  to  do  so.  The 
great  majority  of  such  cases  are  tried  in  the  state  courts. 
The  statutes  of  the  United  States  provide  that  they  may 
be  removed  to  a  federal  court  when  the  alien  or  the 
citizen  of  another  state,  who  is  a  party  to  the  suit,  certi- 
fies that  he  believes  that  on  account  of  local  prejudice 
he  cannot  secure  justice  in  the  state  court.  Removals 
from  a  state  to  a  federal  court  may  also  be  had  in  cases 
involving  the  grant  of  property  by  the  United  States, 
or  the  grant  of  land  by  another  state,  and  cases  in 
which  United  States  officers  become  involved  on  ac- 
count of  some  official  act. 


128  THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  JUSTICE. 

New  Trial.  —  Suits  thus  carried  from  a  state  to  a 
federal  court  begin  trial  anew.  They  are  such  suits  as 
are  ordinarily  tried  in  state  courts.  The  reason  for 
going  into  a  federal  court  is  the  fear  of  local  prejudice. 
The  federal  court  simply  takes  the  place  of  the  state 
court,  and  it  must  apply  to  the  case  the  same  law. 
The  case  is  not  decided  twice.  If  the  party,  who  has  a 
right  to  remove,  permits  the  case  to  be  decided  in  the 
state  court,  he  has  no  right  of  appeal  to  a  federal 
court. 

Appeals  to  a  Federal  Court.  —  Appeals  from  a  state 
to  a  federal  court  can  be  had  only  after  a  case  has  been 
passed  upon  by  the  highest  court  in  the  state,  and  the 
state  court  has  decided  against  the  validity  of  some  law, 
treaty,  or  act  of  the  United  States  government,  or  in 
favor  of  the  validity  of  some  law  or  act  of  the  state 
government  which  is  alleged  to  be  in  violation  of  the 
Constitution,  laws,  or  treaties  of  the  United  States. 
Few  cases  at  law  in  state  courts  admit  of  appeal  to  a 
federal  court. 

In  the  tenth  section  of  Article  I,  of  the  Constitution, 
there  are  several  direct  prohibitions  upon  the  states. 
The  greater  part  of  the  prohibitions  have  never  been 
violated.  The  one  which  has  given  rise  to  most  con- 
troversy is  that  forbidding  the  state  to  make  a  law 
impairing  the  obligations  of  a  contract.  The  Virginia 
coupon  bond  case,  and  the  cases  growing  out  of  the 
refusal  of  states  to  accept  for  taxes  the  bills  of  state 
banks  which  had  been  issued  under  a  law  providing  that 
they  should  be  so  accepted,  may  serve  as  illustrations. 

A  clause  in  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  has  given 
rise  to  several  important  appeals  from  state  courts. 


FEDERAL  JUDICIAL  BUSINESS.  129 

The  words  are,  "  No  state  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law 
which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  cit- 
izens of  the  United  States ;  nor  shall  any  state  deprive 
any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  pro- 
cess of  law,  nor  deny  to  any  person,  within  its  jurisdic- 
tion, the  equal  protection  of  the  laws."  Several  of  the 
states  have  passed  laws  prohibiting  the  manufacture 
and  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  to  be  used  as  bever- 
ages. Those  whose  property  has  been  thus  destroyed 
have  secured  appeals  from  state  to  federal  courts,  on 
the  ground  that  the  la\v  deprived  them  of  property 
without  due  process  of  law.  In  these  cases  the  Supreme 
Court  has  sustained  the  action  of  the  state.  The  states 
have  a  large  discretion  in  the  exercise  of  police  power. 
The 'destruction  of  property  was  only  such  as  was  inci- 
dental to  the  exercise  of  the  police  power  which,  the 
court  held,  belongs  to  the  state. 


PART  IY. 

MATTERS  CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

THE   PRESIDENT. 

His  Election.  —  The  method  of  choosing  the  Presi- 
dent, as  determined  by  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  of 
Congress,  and  of  the  states,  has  been  described  in  a  for- 
mer chapter.  The  Constitution  empowers  each  state  to 
appoint  presidential  electors  in  any  way  its  legislature 
may  direct,  and  it  gives  to  Congress  the  duty  of  can- 
vassing the  votes.  Decisions  concerning  the  claims  of 
rival  electors  are,  by  a  recent  act  of  Congress,  left  to 
the  state.  The  franiers  of  the  Constitution  intended 
to  remove  the  choice  of  the  President  from  what  they 
regarded  as  the  dangers  of  a  popular  election.  It  was 
expected  that  the  electors  chosen  by  the  states  would 
be  men  of  superior  wisdom,  who  would  meet  in  their 
various  states  at  the  time  fixed  by  law,  and  by  their 
own  matured  judgment,  select  the  President.  At  first 
in  many  of  the  states  the  legislatures  .chose  the  electors. 
Parties  were  soon  organized,  and  party  candidates  were 
named  in  advance ;  then  electors  were  chosen,  not  to 
vote  according  to  their  own  judgment,  but  to  vote  for 
the  party  candidate.  As  the  choosing  of  electors  by 
130 


THE  PRESIDENT,  131 

popular  vote  has  become  universal,  the  people  virtually 
elect  the  President. 

The     Constitution      changed    by     Custom.  —  The 

method  of  electing  the  President  furnishes  the  best 
illustration  in  our  history  of  a  change  in  the  Constitu- 
tion accomplished  by  custom.  The  Constitution  clearly 
gives  to  the  electoral  college  the  power  to  choose  the 
President.  Custom  has  taken  from  it  that  power  and 
given  it  to  the  people.  Yet  the  words  of  the  Consti- 
tution have  remained  unchanged.  The  question  has 
often  been  asked,  What  would  happen  if  the  electors 
should  follow  the  form  of  the  Constitution,  and,  disre- 
garding the  people's  candidate,  elect  another  to  the 
presidency  ?  No  answer  can  be  given  to  this  question. 
Horace  Greeley  was  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency. 
Before  the  meeting  of  the  electors  he  had  died.  If  he 
had  been  the  successful  candidate,  the  electors  chosen 
to  vote  for  him  would  have  been  confronted  with  a 
grave  responsibility.  It  would  have  been  their  duty  to 
unite  their  vote  upon  some  one  who  would  be  acceptable 
to  the  party  which  had  elected  them.  As  it  was,  the 
Greeley  electors  divided  their  votes  among  four  candi- 
dates. 

Succession  to  the  Presidency.  —  The  Constitution 
provides :  1.  That  in  case  of  vacancy  in  the  Presidency, 
the  office  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-President.  2.  That 
in  case  of  vacancy  arising  from  removal,  death,  resigna- 
tion, or  disability  of  both  President  and  Vice-President, 
Congress  may  by  law  declare  what  officer  shall  act  as 
President.1  Four  times  a  Vice-President  has  become 
President  upon  the  death  of  the  President.  No  one 
1  Art.  II.  sec.  1.  cl.  6. 


132  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

has  ever  become  President  by  virtue  of  an  act  of  Con- 
gress. The  Vice-President,  according  to  the  Constitu- 
tion, is  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate.  The  Senate 
elects  a  president  pro  tempore,  to  occupy  the  chair  in  the 
absence  of  the  Vice-President.  The  law  formerly  made 
this  officer  the  first  to  succeed  to  the  Presidency  after 
the  Vice-President.  When  Cleveland  was  President  the 
Vice-President  died.  The  president  pro  tempore  of  the 
Senate  was  a  Republican.  The  death  of  the  President 
would  cause  a  change  in  the  politics  of  the  administra- 
tion. To  avoid  this  contingency  Congress  passed  a  law 
making  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  successors  to  the 
Presidency  in  the  following  order :  1.  the  Secretary  of 
State ;  2.  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  3.  the  Secre- 
tary of  War ;  4.  the  Attorney  General ;  5.  the  Postmaster 
General ;  6.  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  7.  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior.  The  Secretary  of  Agriculture  was  not 
then  a  member  of  the  President's  Cabinet. 

The  Cabinet  and  the  President.  —  The  Constitu- 
tion makes  no  mention  of  a  Cabinet.  A  clause  gives  to 
Congress  power  to  vest  the  appointment  of  inferior  offi- 
cers in  the  "Heads  of  Departments,"1  thus  assuming 
that  such  officers  will  exist.  One  of  the  first  duties  of 
a  newly  inaugurated  President  is  to  send  to  the  Senate 
the  names  of  his  proposed  Cabinet.  It  has  almost  come 
to  be  a  part  of  our  unwritten  Constitution  that  the 
Senate  shall  confirm  any  nomination  for  the  Cabinet 
which  the  President  may  choose  to  make.  The  Presi- 
dent is  responsible  for  his  administration,  and  needs  for 
Cabinet  officers  his  immediate  political  friends  as  ad- 
visers; it  would  be  regarded  as  unfair  for  the  Senate 
1  Art.  II.  sec.  2.  cl.  2. 


THE  PRESIDENT.  133 

to  interfere  with  his  choice  except  for  important  rea- 
sons. At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  President  Johnson 
adopted  a  policy  which  the  majority  of  Congress  viewed 
with  alarm.  Johnson  proposed  to  dismiss  those  members 
of  President  Lincoln's  Cabinet  who  had  not  resigned, 
and  to  fill  their  places  with  men  of  his  own  views.  Con- 
gress passed  a  tenure-of-office  act,  to  prevent  these 
removals,  and  thus  to  retain  in  office  some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  Lincoln's  Cabinet.  A  bitter  contest  arose  be- 
tween the  President  and  Congress,  which  resulted  in  his 
impeachment.  On  the  trial  the  Senate  lacked  one  vote 
of  the  two-thirds  necessary  to  convict.  The  President 
gained  his  point;  Secretary  Stan  ton  resigned,  and 
one  of  the  President's  own  nominees  was  confirmed  by 
the  Senate.  Such  a  contest  is  not  likely  to  occur  again. 

Political  and  Noii -Political  Offices. — A  Republican 
Cabinet  officer  would  be  an  unsatisfactory  adviser  for  a 
Democratic  President,  because  they  would  differ  in  their 
views  on  governmental  policy.  A  Cabinet  position  is  a 
political  office,  because  the  occupant  helps  to  shape  the 
principles  and  policy  of  the  administration.  A  foreign 
minister  may  also  be  closely  connected  with  govern- 
mental policy.  A  postmaster  is  not  a  political  officer. 
His  opinion  is  never  asked  on  matters  of  state.  His 
business  is  purely  administrative.  The  political  offices 
are  few  in  number ;  the  non-political  are  numerous. 

The  Appointing  Power.  —  The  Constitution  makes 
it  the  duty  of  the  President  to  nominate  and,  with  the 
approval  of  the  Senate,  to  appoint  all  officers  of  the 
United  States  not  otherwise  provided  for  by  law.  The 
officers  in  the  civil  service  have  become  very  numerous. 
The  places  to  be  filled  are  estimated  at  near  two 


134  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

hundred  thousand.  A  large  proportion  of  these  are 
merely  hired  assistants,  and  are  not  subject  to  appoint- 
ment. The  making  of  appointments  to  office  now  con- 
stitutes a  large  part  of  the  business  of  the  Presi- 
dent. It  was  not  so  during  the  first  forty  years  of  the 
history  of  the  Constitution.  The  officers  were  not 
numerous,  and  the  tenure  of  office  was  permanent; 
removals  being  made  only  when  the  business  demanded 
a  change.  A  law  establishing  a  four-years  tenure  to 
many  of  the  offices  filled  by  appointment,  and  the  intro- 
duction of  the  so-called  spoils  system  have  greatly 
increased  the  labors  of  the  President. 

The  Spoils  System.  —  During  Washington's  admin- 
istration the  question  was  raised  whether  the  Presi- 
dent should  have  the  power  to  remove  from  office  or 
whether  removals  should  be  governed  by  law.  It  was 
alleged,  in  favor  of  a  law,  that  if  the  President  had 
power  to  remove,  he  might  turn  out  all  officers  in  the 
civil  service  and  fill  the  places  with  his  own  personal 
and  party  friends.  Mr.  Madison  said  that  the  Constitu- 
tion furnished  an  effectual  remedy  against  such  an  abuse 
of  power.  A  President  who  should  make  removals  for 
such  a  purpose  would  himself  be  subject  to  impeachment 
and  removal  from  his  own  high  trust.  Madison's  view 
of  the  Constitution  was  the  prevailing  one  till  Mr.  Jack- 
son became  President,  in  1829.  Mr.  Jackson  actually 
removed  nearly  all  who  held  office  by  appointment,  and 
filled  their  places  with  personal  and  party  friends.  Since 
the  time  of  Jackson  his  method  of  appointment  has 
become  general.  The  party  which  carries  the  election 
expects  to  have  all  the  offices,  in  accordance  with  the 
doctrine,  "  To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils.'* 


THE  PRESIDENT.  135 

Objections  to  the  Spoils  System.  —  Against  the 
spoils  system  the  following  objections,  among  others, 
may  be  urged :  — 

1.  It  tends  to  degrade  the  office  of  the  Presidency. 
Mr.  Colfax  relates  that  a  clergyman  from  a  small  town, 
calling  upon  President  Lincoln  in  the  interest  of  a  post- 
office  candidate  of  his  town,  prefaced  his  business  by 
remarks  upon  the  cruel  war  and  the  great  responsibility 
which  it  entailed  upon  the  President.     "  Oh,  it  is  not 
the  war,"  Mr.  Lincoln  replied,  "  I  can  get  along  with 
the  war  very  well.     It  is  your  plaguy  little  post-office 
that  is  killing  me !  "     The  spoils  system  takes  up  the 
time  of  the  President  with  unimportant,  and  often  con- 
temptible, business. 

2.  This  unworthy  business  involves  congressmen  as 
well  as  the  President.     Congressmen  have  taken  advan- 
tage of  the  helplessness  of  the  President  in  his  efforts 
to  distribute  spoils,  and  assume  to  control  the  appoint- 
ments in  their  own  districts.      This   brings  upon  the 
President  a   new  difficulty.     The   Constitution  makes 
him  responsible  for  making  the  appointments  and  con- 
ducting the  business ;  but  men  who  are  not  responsible 
select  as  officers  those  who  are  often  wholly  unsuited 
to  his  purposes.     Many  congressmen  are  thus  hindered 
almost   entirely   from    giving   attention   to   their   own 
responsible  and  constitutional  business. 

3.  The  spoils  system  tends  to  create  a  limited  class 
of   office-seekers  and  office-holders.     The  great  major- 
ity of  citizens  never  seek  for  or  expect  an  office,  but 
it  is  for  their  interest  that  the  best  qualified  should 
have  a  chance  at  every  appointment.    Successful  spoils- 
men  get    control   of    party   machinery   and  strive   to 


136  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

limit  office  holding,  both  state  and  federal,  to  their  own 
class. 

4.  The  spoils  system  tends  to  destroy  an  interest  in 
politics  on  the  part  of  the  great  body  of  citizens.     All 
intelligent  citizens  are  naturally  interested  in  the  poli- 
cies and  the  issues  of  statesmanship,  which  affect  the 
welfare  of  themselves  and  of  their  families.    The  distri- 
bution of  offices  does  not  personally  concern  them.     If 
the  place  for  a  statesman  is  filled  by  a  distributer  of 
offices,  the  multitude  can  have  little  interest  in  him. 

5.  The  spoils  system  tends  to  destroy  party  life  and 
party  harmony.     The  life  of  a  party  comes  from  a  com- 
mon purpose  to  promote  some  principle  or  some  policy 
of  government.     In  so  far  as  patronage  displaces  states- 
manship it   is   a   direct   attack   upon   real   party   life. 
Those  who  are  not  office-seekers  will  lose  interest  in 
their   party  when   their   leaders  cease  to  labor  for  its 
principles.      The  office-seekers   in    the    party   tend   to 
divide   into   warring   factions,  Avho  feel  towards  each 
other  a  greater   hostility  than   towards    the  members 
of  the  opposite  party.     The  assassination  of  President 
Garfield   arose   from  a  bitter   factional  war   over  the 
spoils   of    office.      The    "independent"    voting   which 
causes  the  defeat  of  a  party  often  comes  from  a  disap- 
pointed faction  among  its  office  seekers. 

6.  The  system  tends  to  promote  corruption.     It  is 
theoretically  possible  under  the  spoils  system  that  only 
those  should  receive  office  whose  devotion  to  the  prin- 
ciples and  policy  of  the  party  would  make  them  labor 
for  party  success   as   earnestly  without   the   hope    of 
office.     Many  offices  are  thus  distributed  and  no  taint 
of  corruption  is  involved.     But  in  other  cases  offices 


THE  PRESIDENT.  137 

are  given  to  stimulate  party  workers.  Nay,  in  some 
cases  men  receive  office  because  they  would  otherwise 
work  to  defeat  the  party.  This  is  bribery  pure  and 
simple. 

It  is  in  itself  perfectly  honorable  and  upright  for 
an  office  holder  to  give  money  toward  the  expenses 
of  a  political  campaign.  Many  give  from  true  party 
interest.  In  other  cases  officers  are  made  to  feel  that 
unless  they  give  the  sums  specified  by  a  party  committee, 
they  will  be  removed  from  office.  Sums  thus  exacted 
lower  the  virtue  of  party  committees. 

Congressmen  in  whose  interest  the  party  funds  have 
been  expended  are  tempted  to  make  good  to  officials 
their  political  assessments  by  increased  salary,  and  to 
maintain  idle  offices  for  those  who  have  worked  or  are 
working  simply  for  the  party.  Here  are  involved  the 
three  distinct  crimes  of  bribery,  blackmail,  and  misuse 
of  funds.  Yet  in  each  case  the  act  may  be  with  diffi- 
culty distinguished  from  an  honorable  deed  or  an  error 
in  judgment.  The  agent  may  find  himself  acting  from 
a  corrupt  motive  before  he  is  aware  of  being  tempted. 
It  is  the  insidiousness  of  the  spoils  system  which  con- 
stitutes its  peculiar  danger,  and  which  caused  Horace 
Bushnell  to  say  that  such  a  system  would  corrupt  a 
nation  of  angels. 

Obstacles  to  Reform.  —  If  the  President  and  con- 
gressmen would  simply  return  to  the  method  followed 
during  the  first  forty  years,  the  reform  would  be  accom- 
plished. It  is  difficult  for  them  to  do  this.  They  have 
been  elected  under  the  spoils  system.  They  have  in 
many  instances  secured  position,  not  by  the  advocacy 
of  political  measures  before  the  voters,  but  by  promises 


138  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

of  political  favors  to  the  few  party  managers.  Many  of 
these  know  that  they  would  not  be  chosen  to  office  for 
their  ability  to  understand  and  state  political  issues. 
Some  of  them,  seeing  the  general  indifference  to  federal 
politics  which  the  spoils  system  has  created,  have  come 
actually  to  believe  that  the  system  is  necessary  in  order 
to  prevent  a  decay  of  political  interest.  It  is  doubtless 
true  that  in  the  case  of  individuals  there  would  be  a 
loss  of  interest.  The  reform  is  thus  opposed  by  a  large 
part  of  the  official  class.  Its  evils  are  not  such  as  to  be 
readily  seen. 

Present  Laws.  —  In  view  of  the  many  obstacles  to 
reform  by  a  voluntary  change  of  habit,  it  is  necessary 
to  resort  to  compulsory  legislation.  Thus  far  the  laws 
passed  are  :  1.  One  forbidding  party  committees  to  levy 
assessment  upon  public  officers ;  2.  One  forbidding  public 
officers  to  engage  in  active  party  work ;  3.  A  law  re- 
quiring entrance  to  office  in  a  part  of  the  service  to  be 
through  an  open  competitive  examination.  The  last 
provides  for  a  civil  service  commission  to  supervise  its 
enforcement.  The  law  also  authorizes  the  Executive 
to  extend  the  rules  to  classes  of  officers  not  named 
in  the  statute.  The  reform  will  be  completed  when, 
either  by  law  or  by  custom  in  the  federal  service, 
the  non-political  officers  shall  never  be  called  in  question 
for  their  political  opinions ;  when  there  shall  be  no  re- 
movals for  political  reasons ;  when  vacancies  shall  be 
filled  with  sole  reference  to  business  ability;  when 
a  candidate  for  a  political  office  can  no  longer  secure 
place  or  promotion  by  bestowing  favors  upon  the  few, 
but  shall  be  required  to  convince  the  many  of  his  ability 
to  understand  and  promote  political  measures. 


FOREIGN  SERVICE.  139 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

FOREIGN    SERVICE. 

Treaties. —  When  our  revolutionary  fathers  adopted 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  thereby  expressed 
their  determination  to  become  a  separate  and  indepen- 
dent nation,  they  immediately  took  steps  to  secure  the 
recognition  and  assistance  of  other  nations.  They  sent 
ambassadors  to  France ;  and  after  two  years  a  treaty 
was  signed  with  that  government,  acknowledging  the 
independence  of  America,  and  promising  assistance  in 
the  war  against  England.  The  co-operation  of  Spain  in 
the  war  was  secured  in  the  following  year.  In  1783 
a  treaty  was  completed  with  the  English  government 
whereby  our  independence  was  acknowledged.  At  the 
same  time  a  treaty  was  made  with  Spain,  fixing  the 
boundary  of  the  United  States  on  the  south  and  the  west. 
Florida  was  made  the  boundary  on  the  south,  and  the 
Mississippi  River  on  the  west,  while  Spain  kept  control 
of  the  mouth  of  the  river.  In  1803,  by  a  fortunate  turn 
in  the  affairs  of  Europe,  it  became  possible  for  the 
United  States  to  purchase  from  France  the  vast  terri- 
tory west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  since  known  as  the 
Louisiana  Purchase.  This  gave  to  the  United  States 
entire  control  of  the  Mississippi. 

Other  Purchases.  —  In  1819,  Florida  was  purchased 
of  Spain ;  and  a  definite  boundary  for  the  Louisiana 
purchase  was  fixed.  This  boundary  was  so  run  as  to 
give  to  the  United  States  Oregon  and  Washington 
on  the  Pacific  coast.  At  the  close  of  the  Mexican  War, 


140  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

in  1848,  the  treaty  of  peace  secured  to  us  the  Rio 
Grande  and  Gila  rivers  as  our  boundary  on  the  south- 
west. A  strip  of  land  south  of  the  Gila  was  purchased 
of  Mexico,  in  1853. 

Boundary  Disputes.  —  In  adjusting  our  boundary 
on  the  north,  we  have  dealt  with  England.  For  many 
years  there  was  a  dispute  as  to  the  precise  location  of 
the  northern  boundary  of  Maine.  The  treaty  made  in 
1783  was  not  clear  in  its  terms.  This  dispute  was 
finally  settled  by  the  Ashburton  Treaty,  in  1842.  The 
treaty  with  Spain  in  1819  gave  to  the  United  States,  so 
far  as  the  claims  of  Spain  were  concerned,  the  Pacific 
coast  north  of  the  42d  degree  of  north  latitude.  But 
the  English  nation  claimed  the  entire  region  as  a  part 
of  their  territory.  The  United  States  claimed  the  coast 
region  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  as  far  north  as 
54°  40'.  Several  treaties  recognize  this  as  disputed 
territory.  A  treaty  with  England  in  1846  fixed  upon 
the  49th  parallel  as  the  dividing  line.  A  treaty  with 
Russia  in  1867  gave  us  Alaska. 

Other  Foreign  Service.  —  These  are  the  important 
treaties  by  which  our  territory  has  been  extended.  Be- 
sides questions  of  territory,  there  are  many  other  things 
which  claim  the  attention  of  nations  in  their  dealings 
with  each  other ;  questions  concerning  commerce  and 
the  navigation  of  seas  and  rivers,  the  surrender  of  es- 
caped criminals,  the  protection  of  citizens  travelling  or 
residing  abroad,  immigration,  postal  business,  and  many 
other  matters  of  greater  or  less  importance. 

Constitutional  Provisions.  —  The  entire  business  of 
dealing  with  foreign  nations  has  from  the  beginning 
been  in  the  hands  of  the  federal  government.  The 


FOEEIGN  SERVICE.  141 

Articles  of  Confederation  forbade  the  states  to  make 
treaties  or  to  conduct  official  business  with  other  nations 
without  the  consent  of  Congress.  The  Constitution 
makes  it  unlawful  for  a  state  to  make  a  treaty  under 
any  circumstances.1  It  would  lead  to  infinite  confusion 
and  trouble  to  allow  the  states  to  carry  on  official  busi- 
ness with  a  foreign  nation. 

The  Secretary  of  State.  —  Washington  made  Thomas 
Jefferson  his  first  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs.  The 
legal  name  of  this  division  of  the  Executive  is  the 
Department  of  State.  The  head  of  the  department  is 
called  the  Secretary  of  State.  He  occupies  the  place  of 
greatest  dignity  and  honor  in  the  President's  Cabinet. 
He  receives  all  ambassadors  and  ministers  from  foreign 
nations,  and  introduces  them  to  the  President.  He 
conducts  the  correspondence  with  other  nations,  and  is 
the  custodian  of  the  archives  of  the  government. 

Division  of  the  Service.  —  In  the  State  Department 
many  of  the  officers  reside  in  foreign  lands.  They  are 
divided  into  two  classes  assigned  respectively  to  the 
diplomatic  and  to  the  consular  service. 

Diplomatic  Service.  —  In  the  diplomatic  service  the 
officers  have  to  do  chiefly  with  governments.  They 
reside  at  the  capital  of  the  nation  to  which  they  are 
sent,  and  receive  instructions  from  the  President,  com- 
municated through  the  Secretary  of  State.  It  is  their 
duty  to  secure,  so  far  as  possible,  a  favorable  considera- 
tion of  all  our  interests.  Communications  to  or  from 
foreign  nations  are  made  through  our  diplomatic  agents 
abroad,  or  through  foreign  ministers  at  Washington. 

1  Art.  I.  sec.  10. 


142  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

[Diplomatic  Agents.  —  The  diplomatic  agents  of  the 
highest  rank  have  the  title  of  " Ambassador."  These 
represent  our  government  at  the  capitals  of  the  more 
important  states ;  such  as  Great  Britain,  France,  and 
Germany.  The  ministers  of  the  next  lower  rank 
have  the  title  "  Envoys  Extraordinary  and  Ministers 
Plenipotentiary."  The  great  body  of  our  diplomatic 
agents  have  this  title.  We  are  represented  at  a  few 
states  of  minor  importance,  such  as  Siam,  by  a 
"Minister  Resident."  "Charge*  d' Affaires"  is  also  the 
title  of  a  few  agents  in  minor  states.  The  minister 
is  assisted  by  a  Secretary  of  Legation  in  the  important 
states. 

Consular  Service.  —  The  officers  in  the  consular 
service  are  more  numerous  than  those  in  the  diplo- 
matic. They  have  to  do  chiefly  with  the  rights  and  in- 
terests of  individuals.  All  foreign  countries  frequented 
by  Americans  are  divided  into  consular  districts,  and  a 
consul  is  appointed  for  each  one.  If  an  American  dies 
within  the  limits  of  the  district,  and  leaves  no  provision 
for  the  settlement  of  his  estate,  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
consul  to  take  charge  of  it,  pay  debts,  collect  dues,  and 
transmit  the  remainder  of  the  property,  or  of  the  pro- 
ceeds from  its  sale,  to  the  treasury  of  the  United  States, 
to  be  holden  for  the  legal  claimants.  If  an  American 
in  a  foreign  country  wishes  to  make  certain  legal  docu- 
ments for  use  in  America,  the  business  is  done  by  a 
consul.  These  are  examples  of  a  multitude  of  things 
which  a  consul  may  be  called  upon  to  do. 

Consuls  and  Commerce.  —  But  by  far  the  most  im- 
portant business  in  the  consular  service  is  that  con- 
nected  with  American  shipping.  The  consul  must 


FOBEIGN   SERVICE.  143 

keep  a  record  of  all  American  vessels  entering  his  port, 
the  number  of  seamen,  the  tonnage  of  each  vessel,  the 
nature  and  value  of  the  cargo,  and  various  other  items. 
The  consul  is  the  legal  guardian  of  the  rights  of  Amer- 
ican seamen.  If  seamen  are  destitute,  it  is  his  duty  to 
furnish  relief  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment. He  may  require  ship-masters  to  convey  sick 
or  destitute  seamen  to  the  United  States. 

The  Alabama  Case.  —  It  is  the  duty  of  all  ministers, 
consuls,  and  agents  of  the  United  States  in  foreign 
lands  to  collect  information  which  may  be  of  use  to  the 
United  States  government  or  people.  The  famous  Ala- 
bama Case  furnishes  a  good  illustration  of  the  practical 
working  of  our  foreign  service.  It  was  the  duty  of  our 
consul  at  Liverpool  to  learn  the  fact  that  a  ship  was 
building  for  the  purpose  of  preying  upon  American 
commerce.  Having  learned  the  fact,  it  was  his  duty  at 
once  to  inform  the  Secretary  of  State.  It  was  then  the 
duty  of  the  Secretary  of  State  to  request  the  British  gov- 
ernment to  prevent  the  vessel  from  going  to  sea.  When, 
through  the  negligence  or  connivance  of  British  officials, 
the  vessel  had  been  permitted  to  go  to  sea,  it  became  the 
duty  of  the  Secretary  of  State  to  notify  the  British  gov- 
ernment that  the  United  States  held  itself  entitled  to 
full  compensation  for  all  the  damages  inflicted  upon 
American  property  by  the  Alabama.  Having  set  forth 
this  claim,  it  was  the  duty  of  each  Secretary  of  State,  in 
all  proper  ways,  to  insist  upon  a  settlement  at  the  hands 
of  the  English  government,  until  an  agreement  was 
reached. 

Salaries.  —  During  the  year  1889  there  were  in  the 
diplomatic  service  thirty-three  officers,  whose  salaries 


144  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

ranged  from  $5,000  to  $17,500.  In  the  consular  service 
there  were  two  hundred  and  forty-three,  whose  salaries 
were  from  $1,000  to  $6,000. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE   TREASURY    DEPARTMENT. 

Origin  of  the  Treasury  Department.  —  In  February, 
1776,  the  Continental  Congress  passed  a  resolution  for 
the  appointment  of  a  standing  committee  to  superintend 
the  treasury.  In  1779  the  department  was  reorganized 
and  the  business  was  committed  to  a  Board  of  five 
Commissioners,  three  of  whom  were  not  members  of 
Congress.  In  1781  the  Commissioners  were  displaced 
by  a  Superintendent  of  Finance,  and  Robert  Morris 
was  first  chosen  to  this  office.  Washington  made  Alex- 
ander Hamilton  his  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  Under 
his  wise  management  the  department  received  a  form 
of  organization  which  has  in  many  features  continued 
to  the  present  day. 

The  Constitution  gives  to  Congress  power  to  levy 
taxes,  to  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  coin  money.  The  execution  of  the  laws 
made  in  pursuance  of  these  powers  is  through  the 
agency  of  the  Treasury  Department.  The  collection 
of  taxes  is  the  largest  part  of  executive  business. 

Internal  Revenue.  —  The  government  derives  about 
one  third  of  its  revenue  from  a  tax  upon  distilled  and 
fermented  liquors  and  tobacco.  For  the  collection  of 
the  tax  the  entire  country  is  divided  into  districts,  and 


THE   TREASURY  DEPARTMENT.  145 

a  collector  is  appointed  for  each  district.  For  a  time 
during  and  after  the  Civil  War  a  large  number  of  arti- 
cles were  taxed  and  the  income  from  this  source 
exceeded  that  from  all  others.  The  term  internal 
revenue  includes  all  taxes  on  the  products  or  manufac- 
tures of  the  country,  upon  banks  and  bankers,  the 
income  from  the  sale  of  stamps,  such  as  the  stamp  upon 
bank  checks,  and  licenses,  or  taxes  upon  occupations, 
and  income  taxes.  It  does  not  include  the  revenue  from 
the  sale  of  public  lands  or  the  revenue  from  postage- 
stamps.  The  tax  upon  liquors  and  tobacco  is  paid  by 
the  manufacturers  and  dealers.  Nearly  all  other  forms 
of  internal  revenue  have  been  abolished. 

Customs.  —  The  revenue  from  duties  imposed  upon 
imported  goods  was,  for  the  year  1888,  1219,000,000. 
This  was  nearly  twice  the  income  from  internal  revenue 
for  the  same  year,  and  was  more  than  half  the  entire  gov- 
ernment income.  Of  this  amount  there  was  collected 
from  duties  on  tobacco  and  liquors  $16,000,000 ;  from 
sugar  150,000,000 ;  from  iron  and  steel,  $21,000,000 ;  from 
wool  and  woollens,  $32,000,000.  The  remaining  part  is 
collected  from  a  multitude  of  articles.  For  the  collection 
of  the  customs,  the  coast  line,  the  banks  of  navigable 
rivers,  and  the  boundaries  between  the  United  States 
and  Canada  and  Mexico  are  divided  into  collection  dis- 
tricts. Ports  of  entry  are  established  by  law,  through 
which  all  imported  goods  are  required  to  pass.  A  large 
proportion  of  the  revenue  from  customs  is  collected  at 
the  single  port  of  New  York. 

Commerce  and  Navigation.  —  To  attend  to  the  col- 
lection of  revenue  from  imports,  the  government  has  to 
maintain  officers  at  all  the  ports  of  entry.  To  prevent 


146  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

smuggling,  guards  are  necessary  along  the  coast.  On 
account  of  the  nature  of  the  business  of  the  Treasury 
Department,  it  is  entrusted  with  the  execution  of  the 
various  laws  on  commerce  and  navigation,  such  as  laws 
for  the  inspection  of  ships  and  steamboats  to  determine 
whether  they  should  be  permitted  to  go  upon  the  water, 
the  laws  to  maintain  lighthouses  and  buoys  along  the 
coast,  the  life-saving  corps  and  the  coast-survey,  the  laws 
for  the  preservation  of  seals  in  Alaska,  and  the  laws  to 
prevent  the  introduction  of  diseased  animals.  The  depart- 
ment also  has  charge  of  hospitals  for  the  use  of  seamen. 

Public  Improvements.  —  Since  1853  there  has  been 
connected  with  the  department  an  office  for  superintend- 
ing architecture.  It  supervises  the  erection  of  all 
buildings  for  the  department,  such  as  custom-houses, 
mints,  assay  offices,  marine  hospitals,  and,  in  addition, 
post-offices  and  court-houses.  Skilled  engineers  from 
the  War  Department  are  employed  in  this  office.  The 
improvement  of  rivers  and  harbors  is  also  under  this 
department. 

Sub-Treasuries.  —  During  the  years  from  1792  to 
1812,  and  from  1816  to  1836,  when  there  was  a  national 
bank,  the  Treasurer  was  required  to  deposit  the  funds 
with  the  bank.  During  President  Jackson's  adminis- 
tration the  funds  were  distributed,  without  warrant  of 
law,  to  certain  state  banks.  By  their  failure  in  the 
great  financial  crisis  of  1837,  the  treasury  incurred  loss. 
In  1840,  a  law  was  passed  for  keeping  the  funds  without 
depositing  in  any  bank,  state  or  federal.  It  was  pro- 
vided that  sub-treasuries  should  be  established  in  certain 
cities  for  the  receiving  and  holding  of  funds,  subject  to 
the  order  of  the  Treasury  Department  at  Washington. 


MONEY  AND   COINAGE.  147 

This  law  was  repealed  in  1841,  was  re-enacted  in  1846, 
and  is  still  in  force.  Assistant,  or  sub-treasurers,  are 
losated  at  Baltimore,  Boston,  Chicago,  Cincinnati,  New 
Orleans,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  St.  Louis,  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  Washington. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

MONEY   AND   COINAGE. 

Origin  of  Money.  —  It  is  probable  that  in  the  earliest 
times  governments  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  selection 
of  a  commodity  to  be  used  as  money.  People,  without 
any  aid  from  the  government,  selected  whatever  val- 
uable thing  was  most  convenient,  and  used  it  in  setting 
prices  in  their  exchanges.  In  this  way,  all  sorts  of 
things  have  been  used  as  money.  Among  the  multitude 
of  the  things  which  have  been  thus  used,  gold  and  silver 
are  the  principal  materials  which  have  survived.  These 
were  originally  used  for  money  just  as  iron  was  used  for 
ploughs,  wool  for  clothing,  and  wheat  for  bread,  not 
because  of  any  statute  made  by  governments,  but  be- 
cause of  their  fitness  for  the  use.  Governments  have 
recognized  and  adopted  what  the  common  sense  of  man- 
kind had  already  fixed  upon  as  the  best  measure  of  value. 

Coinage.  —  In  early  times  gold  and  silver  were 
weighed  out  in  exchange.  The  knights  of  the  middle 
ages  carried  scales  at  their  sides  for  the  purpose  of 
weighing  the  silver.  But  silver  can  be  so  mixed  with 
other  metals,  that  it  is  difficult  to  determine  how  much 
there  is.  Persons  who  become  skilled  in  assaying  and 


148  MATTEES   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

mixing  gold  and  silver  have  great  advantage  over  the 
rest  of  the  community.  To  protect  the  community  from 
fraud,  it  is  desirable  that  the  government  provide  for 
assaying  the  metal  and  dividing  it  into  pieces  of  uniform 
sizes,  convenient  for  use.  Each  piece  is  stamped  to 
make  it  evident  that  the  work  has  actually  been  done 
by  government  officers.  The  object  is  to  adopt  such  a 
stamp  and  employ  such  methods  as  will  make  counter- 
feiting difficult. 

Money  of  the  Colonists.  —  The  first  English  colo- 
nists in  America  were  obliged  to  live  in  that  rude, 
primitive  condition,  in  which  some  more  bulky  form  of 
property  is  better  fitted  than  gold  and  silver  to  be  a 
medium  of  exchange.  Tobacco,  furs,  wampum,  salt, 
codfish,  cattle,  and  other  things  were  at  different  times 
and  in  different  places  used  as  money ;  and  these  vari- 
ous kinds  of  extemporized  currency  were  made  legal 
tender  by  the  colonial  governments. 

In  course  of  time,  the  accumulation  of  wealth  in  the 
colonies  was  such  that  they  could  command  a  portion 
of  the  silver  of  commerce.  The  silver  which  came  to 
them  was  largely  in  Spanish  coins.  The  first  effort  at 
coining  in  this  country  was  made  by  the  colony  of 
Massachusetts,  in  1652.  The  English  government  did 
not  allow  the  colonies  to  coin  money.  They  were 
expected  to  use  English  coins,  and  to  trade  only  with 
England.  Not  much  was  done  in  the  way  of  coining 
money  in  this  country  until  the  Revolutionary  War. 
The  colonists  had  various  disastrous  experiences  in 
their  attempts  to  make  money  out  of  paper. 

The  Money  of  the  Revolution.  —  With  the  opening 
of  the  Revolutionary  War  the  various  colonies  came  into 


MONEY  AND   COINAGE.  149 

the  possession  of  full  power  in  the  matter  of  monetary 
legislation.  Under  the  stress  of  the  times,  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  fell  into  the  habit  of  issuing  paper 
money ;  this  was  made  by  the  states  a  full  legal  tender 
in  the  payment  of  all  debts,  public  and  private.  One 
result  was  that  no  money  of  real  value  could  remain  in 
circulation.  The  people  were  left  to  the  distressing 
experience  of  carrying  on  a  great  war  with  a  worthless 
currency.  Before  the  war  ended  the  money  had  become 
entirely  valueless.  Pelatiah  Webster,  the  financial  his- 
torian of  the  Revolution,  said  of  this  money,  "  We  have 
suffered  more  from  this  cause  than  from  every  other 
cause  or  calamity."  The  Articles  of  Confederation 
assumed  that  the  separate  states  had  a  right  to  coin 
money,  and  they  provided  that  the  Continental  Con- 
gress might  also  do  the  same ;  but  they  gave  to  Con- 
gress alone  the  power  to  regulate  the  alloy  and  the 
value  of  all  coins  made  by  either  state  or  federal  gov- 
ernment. The  Constitution  provides  that  the  federal 
government  alone  shall  have  power  to  coin  money.  The 
states  are  expressly  prohibited  from  coining,  and  from 
making  "  anything  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in 
payment  of  debts."1  This  makes  it  possible  always  to 
secure  a  uniform  currency  for  all  parts  of  the  country. 

Difficulties  with  the  Standards.  —  Our  government 
at  first  made  both  gold  and  silver  coins  a  full  legal  ten- 
der in  the  payment  of  debts.  But  in  fixing  the  weight 
of  the  coins,  it  chanced  that  the  gold  coin  was  worth 
more  than  the  silver;  and  the  result  was  that  gold  would 
not  circulate,  and  we  had  only  silver  as  money.  By 
the  legislation  of  1834  and  1837  the  gold  coin  was  made 
1  Art.  I.  sec.  10. 


150  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

lighter,  so  that  silver  coin  of  full  weight  was  worth 
more  than  the  corresponding  gold  coin;  whereupon, 
the  silver  coins  were  immediately  collected  by  specu- 
lators, and  melted  down,  and  the  people  were  brought 
into  distress  for  lack  of  change.  Merchants  resorted  to 
various  devices,  especially  to  the  importation  of  foreign 
coins.  The  influx  of  gold  from  California,  beginning 
in  1849,  had  the  effect  to  aggravate  the  difficulty. 

The  Difficulty  overcome.  —  This  distress  continued 
until  1853,  when  our  law-makers  adopted  a  device  which 
had  been  found  to  work  well  in  England.  Silver  coins 
of  fifty  cents  and  less  were  intentionally  made  light,  so 
that  they  were  worth  less  than  gold,  and  were  made  a 
legal  tender  in  small  sums  only.  This  device  protects 
the  people  from  the  speculators,  and  secures  the  use 
of  both  metals  as  a  medium  of  exchange.  There  is  no 
temptation  to  melt  down  a  light  silver  coin,  and  the 
government  keeps  the  light  coin  at  full  value  in  trade 
by  retaining  a  monopoly  of  the  manufacture,  and  by 
furnishing  only  enough  to  supply  the  demands  of  com- 
merce. Under  such  circumstances,  these  light  token 
coins  will  always  "  pass  "  at  the  full  gold  value,  upon 
which  all  prices  are  based.  So  long  as  gold  is  the 
actual  measure  of  values,  there  is  no  temptation  to  melt 
a  gold  coin,  because  no  one  can  buy  it  without  paying 
the  full  price  for  it. 

In  18T3  the  silver  dollar,  few  of  which  had  ever  been 
coined,  was  omitted  from  the  list  of  coins.  In  1878  it 
was  restored  by  act  of  Congress  and  made  a  full  legal 
tender  in  the  payment  of  all  debts.  The  act  also  pro- 
vided that  the  manufacture  of  these  dollars  might  be 
limited  to  $2,000,000  per  month.  Owing  to  this  limita- 


MONEY  AND   COINAGE.  151 

tion,  and  to  the  further  fact  that  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment has  exercised  a  wise  discretion,  and  has  not  forced 
silver  into  circulation,  we  have  thus  far  been  able  to 
keep  in  circulation  both  gold  and  silver. 

Gold  Coins.  —  The  gold  dollar  weighs  25.8  grains 
and  contains  23.22  grains  of  pure  gold.  This  is  the 
standard  of  value ;  the  money  in  terms  of  which  prices 
are  set.  The  gold  dollar  is  inconveniently  small,  and 
few  are  coined.  The  laws  authorize  the  coinage  of 
two-and-a-half-dollar  and  three-dollar  gold  pieces,  but 
these  are  not  greatly  used.  The  coins  most  used  are 
the  five-dollar,  ten-dollar,  and  twenty-dollar  pieces. 
Any  owner  of  gold  may  take  it  to  the  mint  or  the 
government  assaying  office  where  its  quantity  will  be 
determined,  and  he  will  receive  for  it  the  same  quantity 
of  gold  in  the  form  of  coins.  The  government  makes 
no  charge  for  coining,  but  it  requires  the  owner  of  the 
gold  to  pay  for  the  copper  alloy  used  in  the  coining. 
It  will  be  observed  from  this  that  the  value  of  the  gold 
bullion  and  of  the  gold  coin  are  the  same.  The  mints 
furnish  a  convenient  way  for  all  owners  of  gold  to 
market  their  ware. 

Silver  Coins.  —  The  mints  do  not  furnish  an  un- 
limited market  for  silver.  The  government  is  required 
to  buy  enough  silver  to  make  $2,000,000  per  month. 
For  this  the  government  pays  the  market  price,  which, 
during  the  eleven  years  in  which  the  law  has  been  in 
force,  has  varied  from  seventy  to  ninety-two  cents  on 
the  dollar.  The  government  also  buys  silver  to  make 
the  smaller  silver  coins  in  use  for  change.  The  quan- 
tity purchased  for  this  purpose  varies  with  the  demands 
of  trade.  For  the  last  ten  years  the  amount  kept  in 


152  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

circulation  has  varied  from  seventy  to  seventy-seven 
million  dollars.  It  requires  only  small  purchases  each 
year  to  keep  up  the  amount.  The  smaller  coins  contain 
less  silver  according  to  their  value  than  does  the  silver 
dollar.  When  the  silver  in  the  dollar  is  worth  seventy 
cents,  the  silver  in  two  half-dollars  is  worth  about 
sixty-five  cents.  The  government,  by  purchasing  the 
silver  and  coining  on  its  own  account,  secures  a  profit. 
On  the  silver  dollar,  however,  the  profit  is  dependent 
upon  the  government's  maintaining  the  gold  standard 
of  values.  If  silver  should  be  received  and  coined  in 
unlimited  quantities,  as  is  gold,  or  if  the  dollars  should 
be  forced  in  large  quantities  upon  an  unwilling  public, 
the  silver  dollar  would  cease  to  bear  the  gold  value, 
and  would  have  simply  the  value  of  the  silver  which  is 
in  it.  If  such  a  policy  should  continue,  gold  would 
cease  to  circulate  as  money,  and  the  silver  dollar  would 
be  the  money  of  account  and  the  standard  of  value. 
There  could  then  be  no  profit  to  the  government  in 
buying  silver  and  coining  dollars  ;  the  silver  in  the  dol- 
lar would  cost  the  full  value  of  the  dollar.  The  smaller 
silver  coins  are  a  legal  tender  only  in  payments  of  ten 
dollars  or  less.  It  is  therefore,  under  present  laws,  im- 
possible for  the  government  or  any  one  else  to  force 
into  circulation  the  small  coins  in  such  quantities  as  to 
destroy  the  present  standard  of  values.  The  silver  coins 
now  authorized  by  law  are  the  dollar,  the  half-dollar, 
the  twenty-five-cent  piece,  and  the  ten-cent  piece. 

Minor  Coins.  —  The  government  used  to  coin  a  silver 
five-cent  piece.  This  was  inconveniently  small,  and  a 
nickel  coin  is  now  made  to  take  its  place.  There  is  also 
a  nickel  three-cent  piece.  For  still  smaller  change, 


MONEY  AND   COINAGE.  153 

the  copper  or  bronze  two-cent  and  one-cent  pieces  are 
furnished.  All  these  minor  coins  are  made  on  govern- 
ment account,  and  the  cost  of  the  material  is  only  a 
small  part  of  their  current  value.  These  coins  are  a 
legal  tender  to  the  amount  of  twenty-five  cents.  The 
government  bears  the  expense  of  distributing  the  minor 
coins  and  the  silver  coins  to  the  places  where  they  are 
needed. 

Gold  and  Silver  Certificates.  —  The  government 
permits  the  owners  of  gold  coins  and  of  silver  dollars  to 
deposit  them  in  the  treasury  and  receive  for  them  cer- 
tificates of  deposit  in  amounts  of  five  dollars  or  more. 
These  certificates  are  not  a  legal  tender,  yet  they  circu- 
late as  money.  The  holder  of  a  certificate  can  at  any 
time  obtain  the  coin  by  presenting  the  certificate  to  a 
sub-treasury.  A  gold  certificate  will  command  gold 
coin,  and  a  silver  certificate  will  command  silver  dol- 
lars On  November  1,  1888,  the  silver  dollars  in  the 
country  amounted  to  nearly  1310,000,000.  Of  these, 
the  treasury  held  nearly  1228,000,000  against  certificates 
which  were  circulating  as  money.  At  the  same  time 
out  of  the  1711,000,000  of  gold  coin  and  bullion  in 
the  country,  $140,000,000  were  held  by  the  treasury 
against  outstanding  certificates. 


154  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 

BANKS. 

The  Bank  of  North  America.  —  The  first  bank  in 
the  United  States  was  the  Bank  of  North  America,  char- 
tered by  the  Continental  Congress  and  by  the  state  of 
Pennsylvania,  in  1781.  Robert  Morris  was  the  chief 
agent  in  its  establishment.  It  proved  to  be  a  great  bless- 
ing to  the  country.  Bills  were  issued,  and  were  al- 
ways kept  at  par  by  the  prompt  payment  of  coin  upon 
presentation. 

Control  of  Banks  assumed  by  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. —  When  the  new  Constitution  was  adopted,  one 
of  the  questions  early  claiming  the  attention  of  the 
government  was  whether  the  regulation  of  banks  en- 
dowed with  the  privilege  of  issuing  notes  belonged  to 
the  states  or  to  the  federal  government.  A  majority  of 
Congress  assumed  that  it  belonged  to  the  federal  gov- 
ernment, and  passed  a  law  for  the  establishment  of 
a  Bank  of  the  United  States,  with  the  privilege  of 
continuing  in  business  for  twenty  years.  During  that 
period,  the  federal  and  the  state  governments  main- 
tained banks  of  issue  at  the  same  time.  This  is  now 
conceded  to  be  bad  policy. 

After  a  trial  of  twenty  years,  the  federal  government 
refused  to  re-charter  the  Federal  Bank,  and  thus  the 
banking  business  came  entirely  under  state  control. 
This  continued  for  four  years,  till  1816,  when  there 
ensued  such  financial  distress,  that  Congress  chartered 
another  national  bank  for  twenty  years.  At  the  end  of 


BANKS.  155 

this  time  Congress  was  prevented  from  re-chartering, 
first,  by  the  veto  of  President  Jackson,  and  afterwards 
by  that  of  President  Tyler. 

State  Banks.  — From  1836  till  1863  the  banking 
business  was  left  entirely  under  state  control.  Each 
state  was  free  to  adopt  any  system  it  chose.  Some  of 
the  states  made  wise  laws,  and  some  banks  conducted 
their  business  wisely,  so  that  their  bills  were  kept  at 
par  with  gold.  Other  states  made  unwise  laws,  and  a 
multitude  of  banks  sprang  up  which  were  mere  swin- 
dling institutions.  It  was  found  impossible  to  secure 
uniformity  in  the  value  of  paper  money.  So  long  as  a 
bank  continued  to  pay  gold  upon  presentation  of  its 
bills,  they  would  circulate  at  par  in  its  vicinity.  But 
there  were  comparatively  few  state  banks  whose  credit 
was  such  that  their  bills  would  circulate  in  all  parts  of 
the  country. 

The  New  York  Banking  System.  —  In  the  midst 
of  the  Civil  War  our  present  banking  system  was 
adopted.  Congress,  in  planning  this  system,  had  the 
benefit  of  the  experience  of  the  states,  which  had 
been  conducting  experiments  in  banking  for  more  than 
twenty  years.  The  state  of  New  York  had  adopted  a 
method  by  which,  in  case  of  the  failure  of  a  bank  to 
redeem  its  bills  in  gold,  the  holders  of  them  were 
secured  against  loss.  It  required  the  banks  to  deposit 
with  a  state  officer  a  sufficient  amount  of  property  to 
redeem  all  the  bills  which  they  were  allowed  to  issue. 
The  property  designated  by  law  for  this  purpose  was, 
for  the  most  part,  government  bonds.  Iowa,  follow- 
ing the  example  of  New  York,  had  adopted  a  similar 
system. 


156  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

National  Banks.  —  Congress,  in  1863,  had  to  pro- 
vide means  for  carrying  on  a  great  war.  The  only  way 
to  get  the  money  in  sufficient  quantities  was  by  borrow- 
ing, that  is,  by  selling  bonds.  As  the  New  York  system 
required  banks  of  issue  to  purchase  bonds,  it  occurred 
to  congressmen  that  to  charter  national  banks  on  such 
a  system  would  create  a  demand  for  United  States 
bonds.  The  state  banks  of  issue  were  gotten  out  of 
the  way  by  a  special  tax,  which  made  it  impossible  for 
them  to  continue  their  circulation. 

The  New  York  system  permitted  the  banks  to  pur- 
chase a  variety  of  bonds  of  state  and  municipal  govern- 
ments. The  federal  system  requires  all  banks  of  issue 
to  buy  United  States  bonds.  These  bonds  are  deposited 
with  an  officer  in  the  Treasury  Department,  called 
the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency.  The  bills  which 
the  banks  are  permitted  to  issue  are  all  printed  in 
the  Treasury  Department  at  Washington.  A  com- 
pany of  five  or  more  citizens  who  wish  to  organize  a 
national  bank  are  required  first  to  buy  United  States 
bonds.  If  they  deposit  bonds  of  a  par  value  of 
$100,000,  the  government  will  then  furnish  to  the 
bank  $90,000  in  blank  bills,  which,  when  signed  by 
the  proper  officers  of  the  bank,  become  notes  of  the 
bank,  and  may  be-  loaned  like  other  money.  The  bank 
is  required  to  deposit  a  five  per  cent  redemption  fund, 
so  that  the  amount  of  money  available  for  business  is 
less  than  $90,000. 

If  a  national  bank  fails,  its  bills  are  still  good,  be- 
cause the  property  of  the  bank  held  by  the  Comptroller 
of  the  Currency  is  amply  sufficient  for  their  redemp- 
tion. These  bills  are  a  convenient  and  satisfactory 


BANKS.  157 

medium  of  exchange,  are  everywhere  of  equal  value, 
and  are  received  without  question. 

It  would  seem  that,  after  a  hundred  years  of  experi- 
menting, we  have  settled  at  least  one  principle,  namely, 
that  the  federal  government  shall  control  all  forms  of 
money. 

Treasury  Notes.  —  We  have  a  sort  of  paper  money 
issued  directly  by  the  government,  in  the  form  of  legal- 
tender  notes,  or  "  greenbacks."  These  likewise  origi- 
nated in  the  Civil  War.  For  many  years  this  paper  was 
forced  upon  the  people  by  the  power  of  government. 
During  all  this  time  it  was  a  fluctuating  and  uncertain 
measure  of  value ;  was  worth  less  than  gold,  so  that 
money  of  real  value  would  not  circulate  at  the  same 
time.  In  1879  the  government  began  the  payment  of 
gold  for  greenbacks,  upon  presentation.  Since  then, 
greenbacks  have  freely  circulated  on  a  par  with  gold. 
They  now  have  the  same  standing  as  bank  notes.  The 
Treasury  Department  of  the  government  is  made  a  sort 
of  bank  of  issue.  But  instead  of  loaning  the  money,  as 
other  banks  do,  it  pays  it  out  for  current  expenses. 
The  amount  of  greenbacks  in  circulation  is  about 
1350,000,000.  The  national  bank  notes  in  circulation  in 
November,  1888,  were  about  $240,000,000.  The  money 
of  all  kinds  was  $1,694,000,000. 

United  States  Bonds.  — In  1865  the  interest-bearing 
debt  was  $2,381,000,000 ,  in  1888  it  was  a  little  more 
than  $1,000,000,000 ;  of  this  $714,000,000  are  four  per 
cent  bonds,  and  are  not  payable  until  the  year  1907. 
Many  of  the  bonds  are  owned  by  national  banks.  As 
these  bonds  are  paid  off,  the  banks  will  come  to  an 
end  unless  the  laws  are  changed.  Under  present  laws 


158  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

a  national  bank  is  compelled  to  own  United  States 
bonds. " 

Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing.  —  To  supply 
treasury  notes,  bank  notes,  silver  and  gold  certificates 
and  United  States  bonds,  there  is  in  the  Treasury  De- 
partment at  Washington  a  Bureau  of  Engraving  and 
Printing.  To  make  counterfeiting  difficult  it  is  impor- 
tant that  the  plates  be  carefully  engraved  and  that  the 
paper  be  manufactured  in  a  peculiar  manner. 

The  various  kinds  of  business  in  the  Treasury  De- 
partment require  the  constant  service  of  a  very  large 
force.  The  Post-Office  is  the  only  department  that  sur- 
passes it  in  the  number  of  officials.  In  the  importance 
of  its  business  and  in  its  close  relation  to  the  welfare 
of  the  people,  it  is  inferior  to  none. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

THE   POST-OFFICE   DEPARTMENT. 

Origin  of  the  Postal  Service.  —  Governments  in 
early  times  provided  means  of  communication  between 
government  officials ;  but  the  carrying  of  private  letters 
by  the  government  is  quite  modern  in  its  origin.  In 
England  this  did  not  take  place  until  about  the  time  of 
the  founding  of  English  colonies  in  America.  Before 
the  government  undertook  the  distribution  of  intelli- 
gence for  individuals,  this  business  was  done  by  private 
enterprise. 

Massachusetts,  Virginia,  and  New  York.  —  In  1639, 
the  General  Court  of  the  colony  of  Massachusetts 


THE  POST-OFFICE  DEPARTMENT.  159 

ordered  that  the  house  of  Richard  Fairbanks  should 
be  the  place  for  the  receiving  of  all  letters  from  beyond 
the  sea.  This  is  the  first  notice  of  any  act  of  govern- 
ment on  the  subject  in  America.  Mr.  Fairbanks  was 
allowed  a  penny  for  the  delivery  of  each  letter,  and  was 
made  answerable  for  negligence.  Previous  to  this  time, 
when  a  ship  landed  in  Boston,  it  was  customary  for 
families  to  send  some  one  on  board  to  receive  their  let- 
ters. Letters  not  delivered  from  shipboard  were  spread 
out  on  a  table,  at  the  nearest  coffee-house.  When  a  per- 
son from  the  country  came  in  to  the  coffee-house  to  get 
letters,  he  would  carry  out  all  the  letters  for  his  local- 
ity, and  deliver  them  himself,  or  leave  them  with  the 
minister,  or  at  an  inn.  Thus  a  rude  postal  system  grew 
up ;  and  it  was  used  not  only  in  the  delivery  of  letters 
from  the  port,  but  for  communication  between  towns. 

In  Virginia,  the  first  law  on  this  subject  was  passed 
in  165T.  It  required  each  planter,  on  pain  of  forfeiture 
of  one  hogshead  of  tobacco,  to  convey  dispatches  as 
they  arrived  to  the  next  plantation.  This  law  is  proof 
of  the  prevailing  custom  of  delivering  letters  from 
neighbor  to  neighbor ;  the  law  undertook  to  compel  the 
planters  to  be  still  more  neighborly.  The  colony  of 
New  York  established  a  monthly  mail  to  Boston,  as 
early  as  1672. 

English  Supervision.  —  The  English  government 
did  nothing  for  the  postal  system  in  America  until 
1704,  when  the  office  of  postmaster-general  for  America 
was  created.  A  law  of  Parliament  regulated  the  rates 
in  America.  Not  much  was  done  towards  the  develop- 
ment of  an  efficient  postal  sj^stem  until  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin was  made  deputy  postmaster-general,  in  1753. 


160  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

Franklin  as  Postmaster-General.  —  Franklin  had 
for  many  years  been  postmaster  of  Philadelphia.  He 
visited  nearly  all  the  offices  then  in  the  country,  and  so 
improved  the  service  that,  in  a  short  time,  the  revenues 
paid  all  expenses,  and  furnished  a  surplus  to  the  British 
treasury.  For  twenty  years  the  business  prospered  in 
his  hands ;  but  on  account  of  his  active  opposition  to 
English  tyranny,  he  was  removed  from  office  in  1774. 
With  the  removal  of  Franklin,  the  English  system  col- 
lapsed, and  postal  business  for  a  time  was  kept  up  only 
by  private  arrangement. 

Congress  takes  Control.  —  In  1775  the  Continental 
Congress  appointed  a  committee  to  devise  a  postal  sys- 
tem for  the  colonies.  Franklin  was  unanimously  chosen 
Postmaster-General.  When  the  United  Colonies  became 
the  United  States  of  America,  by  adopting  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  in  July,  1776,  there  had  been  in 
actual  operation  for  the  space  of  one  year  a  general  pos- 
tal system.  The  Articles  of  Confederation,  adopted  near 
the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  recognized  the  main- 
tenance of  the  postal  system  as  a  part  of  the  business  of 
Congress.  When  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  in  1789, 
Congress  recognized  the  Post-office  Department  as  al- 
ready existing.  No  formal  statute  was  ever  passed 
creating  this  department.  In  1829  Jackson  first  invited 
the  Postmaster-General  into  the  Cabinet.  The  Post- 
office  Department,  although  the  oldest  in  the  govern- 
ment, was  the  last  except  the  Department  of  the  Interior 
and  the  Department  of  Agriculture  to  be  represented  in 
the  Cabinet. 

It  is  difficult  now  to  get  into  any  place  in  the  civil- 
ized world  where  it  is  not  possible,  for  a  trifling  sum, 


THE  POST-OFFICE  DEPARTMENT.  161 

to  communicate  with  friends  by  letters  promptly  carried 
and  delivered.  Nearly  all  the  civilized  nations  of  the 
earth  are  leagued  together  in  a  postal  system.  The 
Postmaster-General,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Presi- 
dent, may  make  postal  treaties  with  foreign  countries. 

^Division  of  the  Business.  —  It  is  not  possible  to  give 
the  exact  number  of  post-offices  in  the  United  States. 
The  number  of  postmasters  is  not  far  from  60,000. 
For  the  management  of  this  vast  business,  the  Post- 
master-General has  associated  with  him  three  assistants, 
and  the  work  is  systematized  and  divided  between  them. 
If  one  has  a  question  about  scales  or  the  weight  of  mail 
matter,  he  corresponds  with  the  first  assistant  Postmas- 
ter-General. If  the  question  relate  to  a  contract  for 
carrying  the  mail,  the  correspondence  is  with  the  second 
assistant ;  while  the  third  assistant  attends  to  the  busi- 
ness of  furnishing  stamps,  envelopes,  and  other  materials. 

Officers  in  the  postal  service  secure  their  places  by 
appointment.  The  more  important  places  are  filled  by 
the  President ;  others  by  the  Postmaster-General  or  the 
subordinate  officers.  In  the  offices  where  large  numbers 
are  employed,  the  appointments  are  made  by  competitive 
examinations. 

Salaries.  —  The  highest  salary  in  the  postal  service  is 
88,000.  This  is  the  amount  received  by  the  Postmaster- 
General,  and  by  the  postmaster  of  New  York.  The 
compensation  of  other  postmasters  is  graded,  according 
to  the  business  of  the  office,  from  $4,000  down  to  less 
than  |5. 

Classification  of  Mail  Matter.  —  Under  our  present 
laws  there  are  four  classes  of  mail  matter.  The  first 
class  consists  of  written  matter,  and  matter  in  sealed 


162  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

envelopes,  or  sealed  packages.  The  rate  of  postage 
is  two  cents  for  each  ounce  or  fraction  thereof.  The 
second  class  consists  chiefly  of  newspapers  and  maga- 
zines. To  encourage  the  diffusion  of  news,  these  are 
carried  from  the  office  of  publication  at  the  rate  of  one 
cent  a  pound.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  mailing 
of  a  newspaper  by  a  person  who  is  not  the  publisher 
costs  as  much  as  the  subscription  price  including  the 
postage.  The  third  class  includes  all  other  printed 
matter,  and  the  rate  is  one  cent  for  every  two  ounces. 
Under  the  head  of  fourth  class  may  be  found  various 
sorts  of  merchandise,  and  the  rate  is  one  cent  an  ounce. 
Competition  with  Private  Business.  —  There  has 
been  a  tendency  in  the  postal  service  to  widen  its 
sphere.  In  ancient  times  the  flying  post-rider  carried 
nothing  but  messages  of  the  government.  When  the 
government  assumed  the  business  of  carrying  private 
messages,  it  was  brought  into  competition  with  private 
individuals  who  were  doing  the  same  business.  Then 
the  government  took  the  monopoly,  in  order  to  be  able 
to  give  to  the  entire  country  a  uniform,  cheap,  and  effi- 
cient mail  service.  Men  could  make  a  fortune  by  carry- 
ing the  mail  between  New  York  and  Philadelphia  at 
government  rates.  The  government  does  not  allow 
private  individuals  to  compete  in  the  carrying  of  let- 
ters ;  but  if  you  wish  to  send  a  book  or  an  article  of 
merchandise,  you  may  take  your  choice  between  the 
postal  service  and  an  express  company.  There  is,  there- 
fore, still  some  competition  between  the  government 
and  the  express  companies.  The  government  is  also 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  envelopes,  and  thus 
comes  into  competition  with  another  branch  of  private 


THE   WAR  AND   THE  NAVY  DEPARTMENTS.      163 

business.  Banks  furnish  accommodations  for  the  send- 
ing of  money  to  distant  places.  The  government  pro- 
vides for  registering  letters,  and  opens  a  money  order 
department,  and  thus  competes  with  the  banks  in  this 
business.  In  England,  greatly  to  the  convenience  of 
the  people,  the  government  has  provided  postal  savings 
banks.  The  English  have  likewise  a  system  of  postal 
telegraphy.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  both  of  these  meas- 
ures will  early  be  introduced  into  the  American  postal 
system. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  postal  business  could  not 
be  done  so  satisfactorily  by  the  separate  states  as  by  the 
federal  government.  It  is  a  business  which,  from  its 
very  nature,  involves  business  relations  with  all  parts  of 
the  country  and  the  world.  It  belongs  therefore  to  gen- 
eral rather  than  to  local  government. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

THE   WAR   AND   THE   NAVY   DEPARTMENTS. 

THE  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States  are  small 
compared  with  those  of  other  nations ;  yet  they  absorb  a 
large  proportion  of  its  revenue.  The  military  establish- 
ments of  the  states  amount  to  almost  nothing.  The 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  forbids  the  states  to 
keep  troops  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  or  to  "  en- 
gage in  war  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  immi- 
nent danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay." 3  The  states  may 
keep  arms,  and  provide  for  the  drilling  of  the  militia.2 
1  Art.  I.  sec.  10,  cl.  3.  2  Art.  I.  sec.  8,  cl.  16. 


164  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

The  regular  army  of  the  federal  government  serves 
as  a  national  police  in  the  territories  and  newly  settled 
states.  It  has  been  frequently  called  into  service  in 
Indian  warfare.  A  portion  of  the  army  is  kept  on  duty 
at  the  various  forts  and  arsenals  of  the  United  States. 

Aid  to  the  States.  —  It  is  expected  that  each  state 
will  preserve  order  within  its  own  limits.  In  case  of 
riot,  if  the  sheriff  be  not  able  to  quell  it,  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  governor  to  do  so  with  the  state  militia.  But  the 
state  legislature  or  the  governor,  when  the  legislature 
cannot  be  convened,  may  call  upon  the  President  of  the 
United  States  for  aid.  It  then  becomes  the  duty  of  the. 
President  to  use  sufficient  force  to  quell  the  riot  and 
restore  order.  There  have  been  few  instances  where  the 
aid  of  the  federal  government  has  been  invoked  to  assist 
a  state  in  preserving  order.  In  the  case  of  Dorr's  Re- 
bellion, in  Rhode  Island,  there  was  a  dispute  as  to  who 
was  the  rightful  governor ;  civil  war  was  threatened, 
and  the  President  was  called  upon  to  restore  order. 
For  several  years  after  the  Civil  War,  United  States 
troops  were  often  used  to  preserve  order  in  the  Southern 
States.  In  the  railroad  riots  of  1877,  the  United  States 
troops  assisted  Pennsylvania  in  preserving  order. 

State  Aid  to  the  Federal  Government.  —  The  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  when  resistance  to  the  federal 
laws  becomes  too  formidable  to  be  overcome  by  the  forces 
at  his  command,  may  call  for  aid  from  the  states  most 
conveniently  situated.  It  then  becomes  the  duty  of  the 
state  government  to  furnish  such  part  of  the  state  mili- 
tia as  may  be  called  for.  President  Washington,  in  the 
time  of  the  Whiskey  Rebellion,  in  1794,  called  upon  the 
adjacent  states ;  and  they  responded  to  his  call.  When 


THE   WAE  AND   THE  NAVY  DEPARTMENTS.      165 

the  state  calls  upon  the  President  for  aid,  the  federal 
officers  retain  command  of  the  troops  used.  When  the 
President  calls  upon  a  state  for  aid,  the  state  militia 
enter  the  federal  service,  and  become  subject  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  President.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Civil 
War,  President  Lincoln  called  upon  the  loyal  states  for 
troops  to  assist  in  enforcing  the  laws  of  the  United 
States.  The  states  responded  promptly,  furnishing  all 
the  forces  necessary  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  the 
Union. 

Separate  Navy  Department.  —  In  the  organization 
of  the  Executive  under  Washington's  administration, 
there  was  but  one  department  for  the  army  and  the 
navy.  A  separate  department  for  the  navy  was  created 
in  1798.  The  secretaries  of  these  departments  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Cabinet.  They  have  the  general  care  of  all 
the  property  and  persons  connected  with  the  service  of 
the  army  and  the  navy. 

Various  kinds  of  governmental  business  are  con- 
nected with  these  departments  besides  their  strictly 
military  work.  During  a  part  of  our  history  the  Indian 
affairs  were  in  the  hands  of  the  War  Department. 

The  Signal  Service.  —  It  is  often  desirable,  on  the 
field  of  battle,  to  communicate  more  rapidly  with  the 
different  parts  of  the  field  than  can  be  done  by  means  of 
messengers.  A  system  of  signals  has  therefore  been 
adopted,  by  which  information  may  be  sent  instantly  as 
far  as  they  can  be  seen.  The  electric  telegraph  is  also 
used  wherever  practicable.  To  train  a  class  of  men, 
and  make  them  efficient  in  the  duties  of  the  signal 
service,  a  school  has  been  established  at  Fort  Whipple  I 
in  Virginia.  One  of  the  early  uses  of  the  signal  service 


166  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

was  to  give  notice  to  military  commanders  of  an  ap- 
proaching storm.  To  this  end  it  was  natural  that 
threatening  conditions  of  the  atmosphere  should  be  no- 
ticed and  reported.  Similar  observations  were  taken 
at  the  various  light-houses  and  life-saving  stations ;  and 
storm  signals  were  put  out,  when  necessary,  to  warn 
ship-masters. 

Meteorological  Bureau.1 — From  these  beginnings 
there  has  grown  up,  in  connection  with  the  signal  ser- 
vice, a  Meteorological  Bureau.  There  are  nearly  two 
hundred  stations,  in  the  various  parts  of  the  country, 
where  careful  observations  are  made ;  and  three  times 
each  day,  at  almost  the  same  instant,  reports  are  sent 
to  the  central  office  at  Washington.  From  the  study  of 
these  reports,  the  probable  changes  in  the  weather  for 
the  next  twenty-four  hours  are  made  out  for  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country,  and  the  news  is  published  by 
bulletins  in  the  daily  papers  and  elsewhere.  From  the 
central  office  orders  are  sent  to  display  warning  signals 
at  such  ports  as  are  threatened  with  a  dangerous  storm. 
Bulletins  are  displayed  in  some  post-offices,  for  the  ben- 
efit of  farmers,  in  planning  their  work  and  saving  their 
crops. 

The  signal  service  takes  notice  also  of  the  tides  on 
the  coast,  and  the  rise  and  fall  of  lakes  and  rivers. 
Thus  the  people  are  forewarned  of  an  approaching  flood. 

By  co-operation  with  weather  observers  of  other 
countries,  the  science  of  meteorology  is  being  rapidly 
advanced.  This  service,  which  had  its  origin  in  the 
destructive  arts  of  war,  has  come  to  be  most  salutary  in 
the  arts  of  peace,  and,  incidentally,  has  become  a  link 
in  uniting  nations. 

1  Transf erred  to  the  Agricultural  Department  in  1891. 


THE   WAR  AND   THE  NAVY  DEPARTMENTS.       167 

Other  Aids  to  the  Arts  of  Peace.  —  Another  illus- 
tration of  the  way  in  which  the  military  service  has 
come  to  be  useful  in  non-military  pursuits,  is  found  in 
the  engineer  corps.  War  demands  the  most  skilful  en- 
gineering ;  for  it  includes  the  making  of  arms,  ships  of 
war,  forts,  bridges,  and  railroads.  These  things,  and 
many  others,  have  to  be  done  with  great  expedition  and 
efficiency. 

The  trained  officials  which  the  government  supports 
primarily  for  war  have  been  found  useful  for  other  pur- 
poses. When  the  city  of  Washington  needed  a  water 
supply,  the  engineers  of  the  War  Department  planned 
and  constructed  the  great  aqueduct.  The  chief  engi- 
neer of  the  War  Department  has  charge  of  the  public 
buildings  and  grounds  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 
Military  engineers  are  constantly  employed  upon  the 
rivers  and  harbors  of  the  country.  Bridges  have  been 
built  primarily  for  the  use  of  the  army,  but  incidentally 
for  the  benefit  of  others.  Public  surveys  are  made, 
and  maps  are  constructed,  which  add  to  our  knowledge 
of  geography.  The  Bureau  of  Navigation  is  maintained 
ostensibly  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States  Navy; 
but  it  probably  renders  its  most  important  service  to 
commerce  and  science.  In  a  similar  way  the  practice 
of  medicine  and  surgery  in  the  army  and  navy  is  made 
to  contribute  largely  to  the  general  science  of  medicine. 


168  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

CHAPTER   XXX. 

THE  INTERIOR   DEPARTMENT. 

PREVIOUS  to  the  year  1849,  the  government  of  our 
Indian  tribes,  the  government  of  our  territories,  the 
disposition  of  public  lands,  and  various  other  matters 
pertaining  to  internal  administration,  were  attended  to 
by  the  State  Department.  To  relieve  it  of  all  such  mat- 
ters, the  Interior  Department  was  organized  by  act  of 
Congress  in  1849.  If  one  wishes  to  get  a  patent  upon 
some  invention,  he  corresponds  with  the  Commissioner 
of  Patents,  in  the  Interior  Department.  If  he  wishes 
to  secure  a  pension,  he  corresponds  with  a  Commissioner 
of  Pensions,  in  the  same  department.  Information 
about  schools  of  learning  in  all  parts  of  the  world  may 
be  obtained  from  its  Bureau  of  Education.  If  the  crops 
are  threatened  with  destruction  by  insects,  there  is  in 
this  department  an  Entomological  Commissioner,1  whose 
business  it  is  to  suggest  ways  and  means  for  saving  the 
crops  from  their  ravages. 

The  census  office  is  attached  to  the  Department  of 
the  Interior.  It  has  charge  also  of  a  hospital  for  the  in- 
sane of  the  army  and  navy,  a  college  for  deaf-mutes,  and 
hospitals  for  the  sick. 

From  the  date  of  the  organization  of  the  Department, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  has  been  a  member  of  the 
President's  Cabinet.  Part  of  the  business  of  the  Depart- 
ment will,  in  the  natural  course  of  events,  pass  away. 
If  the  territories  should  all  become  states,  as  they  are 
likely  to  do,  then  the  Interior  Department  would  have 
1  Now  in  the  Agricultural  Department. 


THE  INTERIOR  DEPARTMENT.  169 

no  farther  care  for  their  government.  If  the  Indian 
tribes  should  cease  to  exist,  and  the  Indians  should  come 
to  be  treated  as  citizens,  the  Interior  Department  would 
be  relieved  from  all  care  for  their  government.  As  fast 
as  the  public  domain  passes  into  the  hands  of  private 
individuals,  or  into  the  hands  of  states,  the  department 
ceases  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  land.  Other 
kinds  of  business,  however,  will  increase  in  amount  and 
in  importance. 

Land  Surveys.  —  The  Department  of  the  Interior  has 
charge  of  the  public  lands  until  they  become  the  prop- 
erty of  individuals  or  of  states.  Before  land  can  be  sold 
to  individuals,  it  is  necessary  that  boundaries  be  accu- 
rately fixed.  For  this  purpose,  a  system  of  land  surveys 
was  adopted  during  Washington's  administration. 

Townships.  —  The  honor  of  devising  our  admirable 
system  of  United  States  surveys  has  been  attributed  to 
Thomas  Hutching,  first  Geographer  of  the  United  States. 
According  to  this  system,  the  land  is  first  divided  into 
squares  by  meridians  and  parallels,  six  miles  apart. 
These  squares  are  called  townships,  and  serve  the  double 
purpose  of  locating  land  and  of  furnishing  the  boun- 
daries for  local  governments.  A  row  of  townships  run- 
ning north  and  south  is  called  a  range.  As  civil  gov- 
ernments, townships  receive  proper  names,  as  Washing- 
ton or  Madison ;  but  for  the  location  of  lands  they  are 
designated  by  numbers. 

Principal  Meridians  and  Base  Lines.  —  The  sur- 
veyors begin  their  work  by  selecting  some  natural  object, 
easily  distinguished ;  and  from  this,  as  an  initial  point, 
they  mark  off,  north  and  south,  a  true  meridian,  called 
in  the  system  a  principal  meridian.  Crossing  the  prin- 


170 


MATTERS  CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 


cipal  meridian  at  right  angles,  they  establish  a  true 
parallel,  called  the  base  line.  Upon  each  of  these  lines 
the  surveyors  leave  marks,  a  half-mile  apart,  throughout 
the  entire  length. 

Mange  lines  are  run  north  and  south  six  miles  apart 
on  either  side  of  the  principal  meridian.  These  lines 
and  the  ranges  of  townships  they  mark  off,  are  num- 
bered east  or  west  from  the  principal  meridian.  Range 


B 


^ 

Z 

5 

4 

3 

— 

2 

G 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1  * 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

1 

2 

3 

4 

T 

5 

6 

p 

FIG.  3. 

P.  M.  =  Principal  Meridian  ;  B.  L.  =  Base  Line.  The  numbers  on  the 
base  line  mark  the  range  lines;  the  numbers  on  the  principal 
meridian  mark  the  township  lines.  Z  is  in  range  6  west,  and  is 
in  township  5  north  ;  T  is  hi  range  6  east,  and  in  township  4  south. 

16  west  means  either  a  line  96  miles  west  from  the  prin- 
cipal meridian,  or  the  adjoining  range  of  townships.  R. 
20  east  is  the  20th  range  east,  or  the  20th  range  line, 
20  x  6  =  120  miles  east,  from  the  principal  meridian. 


THE  INTERIOR   DEPARTMENT. 


171 


Township  lines  are  run  six  miles  apart,  parallel  with 
the  base  line.  They  are  numbered  north  or  south  from 
the  base  line.  Township  No.  12  S.  means  a  township 
whose  south  line  is  situated  72  miles  south  of  the  base 
line. 

The  annexed  diagram  (Fig.  3)  may  serve  to  explain 
the  system.  The  range  lines  are  meridians ;  the  town- 
ship lines  are  parallels  of  latitude. 

Correction  Lines.  —  If  the  surveys  are  accurately 
made,  the  township  lines  are  just  six  miles  apart  through- 
out. But  since  the  range  lines  run  north  and  south, 
they  are  not  parallel,  but  converge  towards  the  pole  of 
the  earth's  axis.  Two 
lines,  in  latitude  42° 
north,  starting  six 
miles  apart,  and  run- 
ning due  north  six 
miles,  will  be  about 
three  rods  nearer  to- 
gether than  at  the 
starting  points. 
Range  lines  start  six 
miles  apart  at  the  R 

base  line  ;  conse- 
quently, north  of  the 
base  line  they  are  less  than  six  miles  apart.  In  lati- 
tude 42°,  at  the  distance  of  60  miles  from  the  base  line, 
the  township  lacks  30  rods  of  being  six  miles  east  and 
west.  To  prevent  this  narrowing  process  from  destroy- 
ing the  system,  the  surveyors  measure  out  from  the 
principal  meridian,  and  establish  a  new  base  line,  called 
a  correction  line,  as  indicated  in  Fig.  4. 


FIQ.  4. 


172 


MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 


Sections.  —  Each  township  is  subdivided  into  thirty- 
six  sections,  as  indicated  in  Fig.  5. 

A  section  contains  640  acres.  The  surveyors  begin  at 
the  southeast  corner  of  the  township  to  mark  the  boun- 
daries of  the  sections.  If  the  work  is  accurate,  all  the 
sections  are  perfect  except  those  on  the  west  side  ;  these 

are  always  imper- 
fect, or  "fractional." 
On  the  north  side 
also  it  generally  hap- 
pens that,  on  account 
of  inaccuracies,  the 
survey  of  the  sec- 
tions does  not  cor- 
respond with  the 
township  survey; 
hence,  a  lot  on  the 
north  side  of  the 
township  is  gener- 
ally fractional,  con- 
taining more  or  less  than  the  ordinary  quantity. 

The  United  States  survey  ends  with  the  location  of 
the  section  lines.  Marks  are  made  by  the  surveyors  at 
the  corners  of  the  sections,  and  also  half-mile  marks  be- 
tween the  corners.  Purchasers  measure  from  these 
marks  to  determine  the  situation  of  their  land. 

The  government  sells  the  land  in  lots  of  40  acres,  or 
multiples  thereof.  In  each  section  there  are  16  of  these 
lots,  as  indicated  in  Fig.  6. 

Lots  A,  B,  C,  and  D,  taken  together,  are  one-fourth 
of  the  entire  section,  and  are  described  as  N.  E.  J  of 
Section  9.  A  alone  is  described  as  N.  E.  ]-  of  N.  E.  J  of 


6 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

18 

17 

16 

15 

14 

13 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

30 

29 

28 

27 

26 

25 

31 

32 

38 

34 

35 

36 

FIG.  5. 


OTHER  FEDERAL  MATTERS. 


173 


Section  9.  E  is  S.  W.  J  of  S.  W.  J  of  Section  9.  E  and 
F  together  are  described  as  S.  £  of  S.  W.  J  of  Section  9. 
The  following  is  the  complete  description  of  160  acres 
of  land,  according  to  the  United  States  survey :  "  The 
southeast  one-fourth  (S.  E.  J) 
of  section  number  nine  (9)  in 
township  eighty-one  (81)  north ; 
range  eighteen  (18)  west  of  the 
fifth  principal  meridian."  The 
fifth  P.M.  runs  near  Dubuque, 
Iowa.  Range  18  is  18x6  — 
108  miles  west  of  Dubuque. 
The  base  line  of  this  survey 
runs  near  Little  Rock,  Ark. 
Township  81  is  therefore,  on  its 

north  boundary,  81  x  6  =  486  miles  north  of  Little 
Rock.  Having  by  these  numbers  found  the  township, 
it  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  Fig.  5  that  the  southeast 
corner  of  Section  9  is  three  miles  from  the  township 
line  east  or  west,  and  two  miles  from  the  north  line. 
By  means  of  this  simple  system,  any  lot  of  land  may  be 
conveniently  located. 


B 

A 

C 

D 

E 

F 

FIG.  t>.  —  SEC.  9. 

CHAPTER   XXXL 

OTHER   FEDERAL   MATTERS. 

Department  of  Justice.  —  The  Attorney  General  of 
the  United  States  and  the  corresponding  officers  in  the 
various  states  are  usually  classed  as  judicial  rather  than 
executive  officers.  The  Attorney  General  is  however 


174  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

a  member  of  the  President's  Cabinet.  He  gives  ad- 
vice on  questions  of  law  to  the  President  and  the  heads 
of  departments.  He  is  assisted  in  his  judicial  busi- 
ness by  a  Solicitor  General  and  the  Assistant  Attorney 
General. 

These  officers  appear  on  behalf  of  the  United  States 
in  the  court  of  claims  and  in  other  courts  when  needed 
for  the  interests  of  the  government.  The  Attorney 
General  has  a  supervisory  control  over  the  United 
States  attorneys,  marshals,  and  clerks,  who  are  connected 
with  the  United  States  courts. 

Agricultural  Department.  —  From  the  beginning  of 
our  history  the  diplomatic  and  consular  agents  of  the 
government  have  been  in  the  habit  of  collecting  infor- 
mation for  the  benefit  of  our  agricultural  interests. 
Seeds  and  plants  have  likewise  been  procured,  and  ex- 
perimental stations  have  been  established  to  test  their 
value  and  to  conduct  other  agricultural  experiments. 
Officers  of  the  government  have  tested  various  methods 
of  manufacturing  sugar  from  sorghum  and  from  beets, 
The  diseases  of  domestic  animals  and  the  insects  which 
destroy  crops  have  been  investigated,  to  discover  means 
of  protection.  The  information  thus  collected  has  been 
published  for  distribution  among  farmers.  This  work 
in  their  interest  was  first  in  the  hands  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  State,  later  in  those  of  the  Department  of  the 
Interior,  then  in  the  hands  of  an  independent  Com- 
missioner of  Agriculture ;  and  in  1888  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  was  elevated  to  Cabinet  rank,  and  a 
Secretary  of  Agriculture  was  appointed. 

The  Smithsonian  Institution.  —  In  1829  Mr.  James 
Smithson,  an  Englishman,  died,  leaving  property  under 


OTHER  FEDERAL  MATTERS.  175 

certain  contingencies,  to  the  United  States,  to  found  an 
institution  for  the  advancement  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge. From  this  bequest  more  than  a  half-million  of 
dollars  were  paid  over  to  the  United  States.  The  trust 
was  accepted  by  act  of  Congress  in  July,  1836,  and  in 
1846  the  Smithsonian  Institution  was  founded.  The 
management  of  the  institution  and  the  administration  of 
its  income  is  placed  by  act  of  Congress  in  the  hands  of 
a  board  of  regents,  consisting  of  the  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States,  the  Vice-President,  three  Senators  ap- 
pointed by  the  Vice-President,  three  Representatives 
appointed  by  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  and  six  citizens 
chosen  by  joint  resolution  of  the  two  houses  of  Con- 
gress. Besides  the  board  of  regents,  the  establishment 
has  other  members,  including  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  Cabinet  officers,  and  the  Commissioner 
of  Patents.  The  fund  is  borrowed  by  the  government 
and  an  annual  interest  of  six  per  cent  is  paid  to  the  insti- 
tution. The  original  fund  has  increased  to  $1,000,000 
by  savings  from  the  income. 

Business  of  the  Institution.  —  In  accordance  with  the 
terms  of  the  bequest,  a  part  of  the  income  is  expended 
to  promote  the  increase  of  knowledge  and  a  part  for  its 
diffusion.  To  promote  the  increase  of  knowledge,  re- 
wards are  offered  to  stimulate  research,  and  men  are 
employed  to  conduct  investigations  in  various  depart- 
ments of  learning.  Knowledge  is  diffused  by  three 
series  of  publications  -  1,  contributions  to  knowledge ; 
2,  miscellaneous  collections ;  3,  annual  reports.  The 
annual  reports  are  published  and  distributed  at  the 
expense  of  the  government.  For  many  years  the  insti- 
tution conducted  investigations  in  meteorology.  This 


176  MATTEES  CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

work  has  now  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  signal  ser- 
vice bureau  of  the  War  Department. 

The  National  Museum.  —  The  buildings  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  are  made  the  repository  of  the 
National  Museum,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Institution 
is  its  curator.  For  a  time  funds  of  the  Institution  were 
expended  in  the  collection  of  specimens.  At  present 
the  museum  is  maintained  entirely  by  appropriations 
from  Congress. 

The  Interstate  Commerce  Commission.  —  In  1889 
there  were  twenty-seven  states  which  had  chosen  rail- 
road commissioners,  to  carry  into  effect  state  laws  con- 
cerning railways.  In  nine  of  these  states  the  commis- 
sioners were  empowered  to  fix  fares  and  freight  rates, 
and  to  enforce  the  observance  of  their  regulations.  But 
a  state  can  exercise  no  control  over  a  railway  beyond 
its  limits.  In  1887  Congress,  therefore,  passed  a  law 
to  regulate  interstate  commerce,  and  the  enforcement  of 
this  law  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  five  commissioners, 
appointed  by  the  President  with  the  approval  of  the 
Senate.  This  commission  is  not  connected  with  any  of 
the  departments  of  the  executive. 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

LEGISLATION. 

The  Legislature  and  Executive  compared  in  Num- 
ber.—  In  the  two  houses  of  Congress  there  are  only 
a  little  more  than  four  hundred  legislators.  As  has 
been  shown  in  a  former  chapter,  there  are  engaged 


LEG  I  SLA  T1ON.  Ill 

in  the  execution  of  their  laws  about  200,000  persons. 
A  few  score  of  men,  met  together  in  a  state  legis- 
lature once  in  two  years,  may  in  a  few  weeks  make 
all  the  laws  for  the  government  of  a  great  state ;  yet,  in 
the  administration  of  these  laws,  thousands  may  be 
constantly  employed.  Congress  might  in  a  few  weeks 
perfect  a  law  for  postal  telegraphy.  To  work  the  system 
would  take  thousands  of  officials  forever  after.  It  re- 
quires few  men  to  make  the  laws ;  it  requires  multitudes 
to  execute  them.  A  good  law  once  made,  is  made  for 
all  time,  or  until  circumstances  change.  Much  of  the 
time  of  legislatures  is  consumed  in  determining  what 
are  good  laws.  If  citizens  were  agreed  upon  them,  the 
work  of  legislation  would  be  even  less  than  it  is. 

Legislative  Business.  —  The  general  scope  of  legis- 
lative business  may  be  learned  from  what  has  been  said 
in  former  chapters.  The  number  of  federal  courts,  the 
number  of  judges  and  their  pay,  the  sort  of  business 
which  comes  before  them,  and  the  method  of  procedure 
where  not  fixed  by  the  text  of  the  Constitution,  are  all 
determined  by  laws  of  Congress. 

We  may  learn  still  farther  what  Congress  has  done, 
by  noticing  what  the  President  and  his  Cabinet  and 
the  thousands  of  federal  officers  are  doing  in  the  work 
of  administration.  They  are  all  carrying  into  effect  the 
laws  of  Congress ;  their  compensation  and  the  method 
of  entering  office  are  determined  by  law.  What  a  state 
legislature  has  done  is  learned  by  noticing  state  institu- 
tions and  their  method  of  management,  the  organization 
and  government  of  counties,  cities,  towns,  townships, 
and  school  districts,  and  the  organization  and  proceed- 
ings of  the  system  of  state  courts.  Nearly  all  official 


178  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  FEDEEAL. 

acts  of  state  and  local  officers  are  performed  in  accord- 
ance with  laws  passed  by  the  state  legislature. 

Financiering.  —  We  are  still  living  under  many  of 
the  laws  passed  during  Washington's  administration. 
In  each  state  many  of  the  laws  made  by  the  first  legis- 
lature are  still  in  force  ;  but  there  is  one  duty  laid  upon 
Congress  and  the  state  legislatures  which  must  be  re- 
peated and,  in  a  certain  sense,  performed  anew  at  each 
session.  At  each  session  the  legislature  must  appro- 
priate money  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  government 
for  the  period  between  the  terms.  Perfect  financiering 
would  result  in  such  an  adjustment  of  the  income  and 
the  expenditure  of  the  government,  that  the  one  would 
at  all  times  balance  the  other.  The  government,  by  hav- 
ing at  one  time  a  large  surplus  idle  in  the  treasury,  and 
at  another  an  empty  treasury  unable  to  meet  its  obliga- 
tions, may  inflict  a  serious  injury  upon  the  business  of 
the  country.  It  is  comparatively  easy  in  the  states,  to 
adjust  income  and  expenditure.  There  is  ordinarily 
one  simple  source  of  income,  and  the  expenditures  are 
easily  estimated;  but  the  work  of  Congress  is  more 
difficult.  The  sources  of  income  are  numerous;  the 
exact  amount  yielded  from  month  to  month  is  de- 
pendent upon  conditions  of  trade  which  cannot  be  fore- 
seen ;  and  there  are  items  in  the  expenditure  which  are 
not  easily  estimated.  During  the  greater  part  of  the 
time  since  the  Civil  War,  Congress  has  been  relieved 
from  the  necessity  of  exact  financiering,  on  account  of 
the  existence  of  a  public  debt,  to  the  payment  of  which 
all  surplus  revenues  could  be  applied.  During  Presi- 
dent Cleveland's  administration,  all  the  bonds  which 
were  due  had  been  paid,  and  the  income  of  the  treasury 


LEGISLATION.  179 

exceeded  the  expenditure  by  more  than  a  hundred 
million  dollars.  Disaster  was  averted  by  purchasing 
at  a  premium  bonds  which  were  not  due,  and  by  deposit- 
ing funds  with  banks  in  order  to  secure  their  return  into 
the  channels  of  trade. 

Local  Option.  —  In  former  chapters  it  has  been  shown 
that  school  districts,  townships,  towns,  cities,  and  coun- 
ties exercise  powers  of  subordinate  or  local  legislation. 
Town  meetings,  or  representative  bodies  in  these  munic- 
ipalities, estimate  local  expenses  and  vote  a  tax  to 
meet  them,  and  adopt  and  enforce  various  regulations, 
rules,  and  by-laws  of  local  concern.  Many  projects 
requiring  the  expenditure  of  unusual  sums  of  money 
can  be  authorized  only  by  a  general  vote  of  the  munic- 
ipality. Besides  the  ordinary  powers  of  local  legis- 
lation, the  state  legislature  often  commits  to  counties 
or  townships  the  duty  of  deciding  specific  questions, 
such  as  the  restraining  of  domestic  animals  from  running 
at  large,  or  the  destruction  of  noxious  weeds  and  ani- 
mals. Among  questions  of  this  sort,  that  which  has 
received  the  largest  share  of  attention  in  recent  years 
is,  whether  the  local  governments  within  the  state  shall 
have  the  power  to  regulate  or  prohibit  the  liquor  traffic 
within  their  limits.  This  is  called  "  Local  Option." 


180  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

THE   CONSTITUTION   AND   THE   LEGISLATURE. 

%  MORE  than  half  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  leaving  out  the  amendments,  relates  to  the  leg- 
islature. A  large  part  of  each  state  constitution  is 
occupied  with  the  same  subject.  There  is  a  striking 
similarity  as  to  form  and  organization  between  a  state 
legislature  and  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 
Many  important  facts  may  be  learned  about  the  organi- 
zation and  the  business  of  Congress,  by  reading  over 
the  first  half  of  the  Constitution.  / 

Basis  of  ^Representation.  —  Two  senators  are  sent 
from  each  state.  In  the  Senate  the  smallest  or  the  least 
populous  state  has  equal  representation  with  the  most 
populous.  The  first  House  of  Representatives  had  sixty- 
five  members,  the  number  for  each  state  being  prescribed 
by  the  Constitution.  Since  the  first  census,  the  appor- 
tionment of  the  representatives  among  the  states  has 
been  according  to  the  population.  As  the  Constitu- 
tion was  first  framed,  all  freemen,  except  Indians  not 
taxed,  were  counted,  including  those  held  to  service 
for  a  term  of  years,  as  apprentices  and  convicts,  and 
to  these  were  added  three-fifths  of  the  slaves.1  By 
the  thirteenth  amendment  abolishing  slavery,  and  the 
fourteenth  amendment  requiring  enfranchised  negroes 
to  be  counted,  and  the  fifteenth  amendment,  which  con- 
fers the  franchise  upon  all  freedmen,  it  has  come  about 
that  all  persons  in  the  states,  except  Indians  not  taxed, 

1  Art.  I.  sec.  2,  cl.  8. 


THE  CONSTITUTION  A.SD    THE  LEGISLATURE.      181 

are  now  counted  in  determining  the  number  of  repre- 
sentatives. 
j  Apportioning  Representatives   among  the  States. 

—  After  the  taking  of  the  census,  Congress  is  required 
by  the  Constitution  to  apportion  the  members  of  the 
House  on  the  basis  of  population,  each  state  having  at 
least  one  member.  The  law  of  1792  gave  to  each  state 
one  member  for  each  33,000  of  its  population.  I  On  this 
basis,  there  were  in  all  105  members.  In  1803  the  same 
ratio  continued,  and  made  the  whole  number  141.  In 
1813  the  ratio  was  changed  to  one  for  every  35,000. 
This  gave  the  House  181  members.  A  ratio  of  40,000 
to  one  representative  in  1823,  gave  212  members.  A 
ratio  of  47,500  in  1833  gave  240  members.  Previous 
to  1842,  no  account  was  taken  of  fractional  parts  of  the 
ratio.  In  that  year  the  law  fixed  the  ratio  at  one 
member  for  every  70,680  people,  and  provided  that  an 
additional  member  should  be  given  to  each  state  where 
there  was  a  fractional  remainder  of  more  than  half 
of  the  ratio.  At  this  time  the  members  were  reduced 
to  223.  After  the  census  of  1850,  a  new  plan  was 
adopted,  which  has  been  followed  since,  of  first  deciding 
how  many  members  shall  constitute  the  House,  and  then 
dividing  the  entire  population  by  this  number  to  find 
the  ratio  of  representation.  The  population  of  each 
state  is  divided  by  the  ratio  thus  found,  and  if  the  sum 
of  the  quotients  do  not  equal  the  number  fixed  for  the 
House,  additional  members  are  assigned  to  the  states 
having  the  largest  remainders,  until  the  required  number 
is  complete.  After  1890  the  number  of  members  of  the 
House  was  fixed  at  356.  The  entire  population  as 


182  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

found  by  the  census  being  divided  by  that  number, 
gave  a  quotient  of  173,901. 

Members  from  Territories.  —  The  Constitution  says 
nothing  about  representatives  from  territories,  but  it 
gives  to  Congress  power  to  "  make  all  needful  rules  and 
regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other  property 
belonging  to  the  United  States."  1  Among  the  rules 
which  Congress  has  chosen  to  make,  is  a  law  permitting 
each  organized  territory  to  send  to  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives one  delegate,  who  has  a  right  to  take  part 
in  the  debates,  but  has  no  vote.  The  representatives 
from  territories  are  expected  to  inform  the  House  of  the 
needs  of  their  constituents. 

Representative  Districts.  —  The  Constitution  re- 
quires both  senators  and  representatives  to  reside  in  the 
state  from  which  they  are  sent.2  Senators,  being  chosen 
by  the  state  legislature,  are  looked  upon  as  representing 
the  entire  state.  It  has  been  the  habit  of  state  legis- 
latures from  the  beginning  to  divide  the  state  into  as 
many  districts  as  there  are  representatives,  and  to  allow 
each  district  to  elect  one  member.  In  1872  Congress 
passed  a  law  requiring  the  states  to  be  thus  divided. 
The  law,  however,  made  provision  that  in  case  addi- 
tional members  were  assigned  to  a  state  on  a  new 
apportionment,  these  might  be  chosen,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, from  the  state  at  large.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
law  or  the  Constitution  which  requires  a  representative 
to  be  chosen  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  district;  but 
nearly  all  representatives  do  reside  in  the  district  which 
elects  them.  In  Great  Britain  there  is  no  such  custom. 
Any  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  may  be  chosen 

1  Art.  IV.  sec.  3.  2  Art.  I.  sec.  2,  cl.  2,  and  sec  3,  cl.  3. 


THE  CONSTITUTION  AND   THE  LEGISLATURE.      183 

from  any  district  in  England,  Wales,  Scotland,  or  Ire- 
land. An  English  statesman  who  wins  a  national  repu- 
tation may  be  sure  of  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
If  defeated  in  one  district  he  is  invited  to  become  a 
candidate  in  another. 

Sessions  of  Congress.  —  Representatives  are  elected 
in  each  year  designated  by  an  even  number.  Their 
term  of  office  begins  on  March  4  of  the  following  year, 
and  continues  two  years.  It  covers  two  of  the  annual 
sessions  of  Congress,  which  begin  on  the  first  Monday  in 
December.  The  first  of  these  sessions  may  last  a  year, 
but  the  second  must  close  by  March  4,  at  mid-day, 
when  the  term  expires.  They  are  popularly  designated 
as  the  long  and  the  short  sessions.  Representatives  do 
not  take  their  seats  until  more  than  a  year  after  they  are 
elected  unless  convened  earlier  in  extra  session..  That 
is,  the  members  chosen  in  November,  1888,  will  take  their 
seats  for  the  first  time  in  December,  1889.  It  has  been 
proposed  to  have  the  terms  begin  and  close  on  some 
other  day,  as  April  30. 

There  is  a  new  Congress  every  two  years,  though 
only  one-third  of  the  senators  are  newly  elected.  The 
Congresses  have  been  numbered  from  the  beginning. 
The  50th  Congress  closed  the  first  century  of  the  Con- 
stitution, the  40th  ended  in  1869.  The  date  of  the  laws 
and  the  documents  of  Congress  is  often  indicated  by 
the  number  and  session  of  the  Congress.  "XL.,  I." 
means  the  session  which  began  March  4,  and  ended 
December  2,  1867,  being  an  extra  session. 

Officers  of  the  two  Houses.  —  The  Constitution 
gives  to  each  house  the  power  to  choose  its  own  officers, 
but,  except  in  the  case  of  the  presiding  officers,  it  does 


184  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

not  name  the  officers  or  define  their  duties.  Each 
house  has  scores  of  officers  with  their  assistants,  the 
most  important  of  whom  are  :  1.  In  the  Senate  a  secre- 
tary, and  in  the  House  a  clerk,  who  serve  as  chief  minis- 
terial agents  of  their  respective  houses,  and  officially 
communicate  their  acts.  2.  A  sergeant-at-arms  in  each 
house,  who  assists  in  the  preservation  of  order.  3.  A 
door-keeper,  who  has  the  care  of  the  room  in  which  the 
meeting  of  the  house  is  held.  4.  A  chaplain  who  opens 
each  daily  session  with  prayer. 

The  President  pro  tempore.  —  The  Vice-President 
is  made  by  the  Constitution  the  presiding  officer  of  the 
Senate.  In  his  absence  the  Senate  is  empowered  to 
choose  a  president  pro  tempore.  It  is  customary  early 
in  the  session  for  the  Vice-President  to  leave  the  room, 
while  the  Senate  proceeds  to  elect  a  president  pro  tem- 
pore as  a  permanent  officer;  then,  if  at  any  time  the 
Vice-President  is  absent,  the  business  of  the  Senate  is 
not  interrupted  for  an  election.  When  the  office  of  Vice- 
President  becomes  vacant,  the  president  pro  tempore 
receives  the  same  salary  as  the  Vice-President,  and  he  is 
often  improperly  called  the  Vice-President.  The  Vice- 
President  is  not  a  senator,  and  he  has  no  vote  except  in 
case  of  a  tie.  A  president  pro  tempore  is  a  senator,  and 
he  has  his  regular  vote  on  every  question.  In  case  of  a 
tie  he  has  no  extra  vote. 

The  Speaker  of  the  House.  —  From  the  text  of  the 
Constitution  we  learn  that  the  presiding  officer  in  the 
House  is  called  "speaker,"1  after  the  analogy  of  the 
House  of  Commons.  The  Constitution  gives  no  idea  of 
the  powers  and  duties  of  this  officer.  It  does  not  even 
1  Art.  I.  sec.  2,  cl.  5. 


METHODS   OF  CONDUCTING   BUSINESS.  185 

determine  whether  he  is  a  member  of  the  House.  Cus- 
tom and  the  rules  of  the  House  have  made  the  speaker's 
position  inferior  to  none  in  the  government  in  power 
and  influence.  In  the  first  Congress  the  House  chose 
one  of  its  own  members  as  speaker,  and  a  rule  was 
passed  that,  unless  otherwise  ordered,  the  speaker  should 
name  the  committees  of  the  House. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

METHODS   OF   CONDUCTING   BUSINESS. 

Legislation  by  Committees.  —  The  number  of  mem- 
bers being  at  first  small,  the  House  for  many  years  met 
in  a  small  room,  and  during  much  of  that  time  the 
quantity  of  business  to  be  transacted  was  not  great. 
While  these  conditions  existed,  the  House  as  a  whole 
had  a  large  share  in  the  work  of  making  laws.  But  as 
the  House  has  increased  in  size,  and  the  business  has 
greatly  increased,  and  the  sessions  are  now  held  in  a 
room  too  large  for  effective  speaking,  it  has  become 
more  and  more  customary  to  legislate  by  means  of  com- 
mittees. 

The  Speaker  and  the  Committees.  —  The  speaker 
is  usually  a  leading  member  of  the  political  party  hav- 
ing a  majority  in  the  House.  Having  been  elected  at 
the  first  assembly  of  the  House,  one  of  his  earliest  duties 
is  to  name  the  standing  committees.  These  have  special 
charge  of  different  kinds  of  business.  They  are  more 
than  fifty  in  number,  and  each  committee  is  composed 
of  from  three  to  fifteen  members.  It  is  expected  that 


186  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

every  member  will  have  a  place  on  some  committee,  and 
often  the  same  member  serves  on  several  committees  at 
once.  The  positions  of  chairmen  are  given  to  the  men 
of  influence  in  the  speaker's  own  party,  but  usually 
each  committee  has  on  it  men  from  both  parties.  The 
entire  course  of  legislation  is  largely  determined  by  the 
way  in  which  the  committees  are  made  up. 

What  the  Committees  do.  —  On  Monday  of  each 
week  a  roll  of  the  states  is  called,  for  the  introduction 
of  bills.  Any  member  may  bring  in  a  bill,  and  it  is  re- 
ferred to  the  appropriate  committee.  During  the  year 
from  six  to  eight  thousand  bills  are  thus  referred.  Most 
of  them  are  never  heard  of  again.  Some  bills  which 
meet  with  a  committee's  approval  are  taken  up,  dis- 
cussed in  secret  session,  sometimes  are  made  the  subject 
of  conference  with  parties  interested,  are  worked  over, 
changed,  and  in  time  reported  back  to  the  House  with 
the  recommendation  that  they  pass.  If  bills  which  suit 
their  views  are  not  proposed  by  other  members,  they 
frame  bills  themselves,  and  secure  their  introduction 
and  reference.  Each  committee  thus  prepares  certain 
bills  which  they  are  anxious  to  have  enacted  into  laws. 

Committees  before  the  House.  —  On  an  average 
about  two  hours  per  year  of  the  time  of  Congress  may 
be  allowed  to  each  committee  to  secure  action  upon  its 
reports.  Two  hours  is  a  short  time  to  discuss  even  one 
bill.  It  is  not  possible  that  many  should  be  acted  upon 
in  any  other  than  a  formal  way.  They  pass  without 
being  understood  by  the  great  body  of  members.  The 
committees  are  generally  the  only  members  intimately 
acquainted  with  a  bill.  The  chairman  of  the  committee, 
having  an  hour  at  his  disposal,  usually  occupies  a  part 


METHODS  OF  CONDUCTING  BUSINESS.          187 

of  the  time  himself  and  distributes  the  remainder  to 
such  other  members  as  he  wishes  to  have  speak,  includ- 
ing some  who  are  opposed  to  the  measure.  The  speaker 
"  recognizes  "  only  such  members  as  the  committee  have 
selected  to  speak. 

Appropriation  Bills  and  Revenue  Bills.  —  The  rules 
of  the  houses  of  Congress  require  that  before  a  bill  be- 
comes a  law  it  shall  pass  three  separate  readings.  The 
first  and  second  readings  occur  when  the  bill  is  intro- 
duced and  is  referred  to  a  committee.  At  this  time 
there  is  rarely  any  opposition  or  discussion.  If  the  bill 
meets  the  approval  of  the  committee  they  report  it  back 
to  the  House  with  the  recommendation  that  it  pass. 
It  is  usually  at  this  stage,  if  at  all,  that  the  measure 
receives  the  attention  of  the  entire  House.  If  it  is  a 
matter  of  general  interest,  the  House  may  go  into  com- 
mittee of  the  whole,  in  which  case  the  speaker  calls 
some  other  member  to  the  chair,  and  the  assembly  pro- 
ceeds by  less  formal  rules  to  review  the  measure  and 
consider  amendments.  After  the  committee  stage,  the 
bill  passes  the  third  reading.  The  Constitution  makes 
the  House  of  Representatives  the  source  of  all  bills  for 
raising  revenue.1  The  committee  of  ways  and  means 
has  charge  of  revenue  bills.  A  rule  of  the  House 
requires  that  all  bills  reported  by  this  committee  and 
those  reported  by  the  committee  on  appropriations  be 
considered  in  committee  of  the  whole  House.  This 
makes  it  more  difficult  for  bills  of  this  character  to  be 
passed  without  a  knowledge  of  their  contents. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  House,  instead  of  being  one 
compact  body,  working  together  in  the  making  of  laws, 
1  Art.  1.  sec.  7,  cl.  1. 


188  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

is  broken  up  into  more  than  fifty  bodies;  and  only  a 
very  limited  number  of  the  laws  which  it  enacts  receive 
the  attention  of  the  entire  House. 

The  Senate  Committees.  —  The  standing  committees 
in  the  Senate  are  not  so  numerous  as  those  in  the  House. 
They  are  not  chosen  by  the  presiding  officer,  but  are 
elected  by  vote  of  the  Senate.  The  political  party  hav- 
ing a  majority  is  thus  enabled  to  control  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  committees.  The  Senate  committees  have 
less  power  than  those  of  the  House.  The  Senate  is  a 
smaller  body,  and  occupies  a  smaller  room.  A  much 
larger  proportion  of  the  senators  become  acquainted 
with  the  work  of  its  committees,  and  take  part  in  review- 
ing their  action. 

Co-operation  of  the  two  Houses.  —  All  bills  except 
revenue  bills  may  originate  in  either  of  the  two  houses. 
When  a  bill  has  passed  the  third  reading  in  the  house 
in  which  it  originated,  it  is  carried  to  the  other  house, 
and  is  there  subjected  to  a  like  process.  It  is  read  a 
first  and  second  time  and  referred  to  a  committee  ;  it 
is  reported  back  to  the  house  for  action ;  it  may  be 
amended  in  committee  or  in  the  house ;  it  is  read  a 
third  time  and  passed.  If  the  bill  has  suffered  no 
amendment  it  goes  at  once  to  the  President  for  his  sig- 
nature. If  it  has  been  amended  it  goes  back  to  the 
house  in  which  it  originated.  If  the  house  accepts  the 
amendments  of  the  other  chamber  then  the  bill  goes  to 
the  President.  It  often  happens  that  the  two  houses 
have  difficulty  in  agreeing  as  to  the  form  of  the  bill. 
In  that  case  a  committee  of  conference  is  named  by 
each  house,  and  the  two  committees  seek  to  agree  upon 
a  compromise  to  recommend  to  the  two  houses.  It  is 


METHODS   OF  CONDUCTING  BUSINESS.          189 

not  until  the  two  houses  adopt  the  same  form  that  the 
bill  is  presented  to  the  President.  A  "bill"  becomes 
an  "  act "  or  "  law "  when  it  is  signed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, or  is  passed  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  each  house 
over  his  veto,  or  has  been  kept  by  him  ten  working 
days  while  Congress  is  in  session. 

Senatorial  Executive  Business.  —  The  Senate  has 
a  large  amount  of  so-called  executive  business.  Many 
of  the  appointments  made  by  the  President  require  the 
approval  of  the  Senate.  Treaties  are  negotiated  by  the 
President  or  by  persons  appointed  by  him,  but  before 
they  go  into  effect  they  must  receive  the  approval  of 
two-thirds  of  the  Senate.  While  attending  to  business 
of  this  character  the  Senate  sits  with  closed  doors. 

Impeachments.  —  The  word  impeach  is  often  used 
inaccurately,  as  when  it  is  said  that  Congress  tried  to 
impeach  Andrew  Johnson,  but  failed.  The  House  of 
Representatives  did  impeach  President  Johnson;  that 
is,  it  preferred  charges  against  him  and  arraigned  him 
before  the '  Senate  for  trial.  This  is  all  that  is  meant 
by  impeachment.  Impeachment  may  be  compared  to 
an  indictment.  If  an  indicted  person  is  acquitted  in 
the  trial,  we  do  not  say  that  the  grand  jury  failed  to 
indict.  What  the  House  failed  to  do  in  the  case  of 
President  Johnson  was  to  get  the  Senate  to  convict 
him.  The  impeachment  was  voted  by  a  large  majority 
in  the  House.  An  able  committee  of  the  House  con- 
ducted the  prosecution  before  the  Senate,  who,  accord- 
ing to  the  Constitution,  "  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all 
impeachments."1  To  convict  requires  a  vote  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  present.  In  the  case  of  Mr. 
1  Art.  I.  sec.  3,  cl.  6. 


190  MATTERS   CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

Johnson  there  was  lacking  one  vote  of  the  necessary 
two-thirds. 

There  have  been  thus  far,  besides  the  case  of 
Andrew  Johnson,  six  instances  of  impeachment  in 
Congress.  Four  of  those  impeached  were  judges  in  the 
federal  courts ;  one  was  a  Cabinet  officer ;  one,  a  United 
States  senator.  Of  the  seven  only  two  have  been  con- 
victed. In  1862  a  federal  district  judge  in  Kentucky 
was  impeached  for  aiding  in  the  Rebellion.  He  was 
convicted,  removed  from  office,  and  disqualified  from 
again  holding  office  under  the  United  States.  This 
is  the  extreme  penalty  allowed  by  the  Constitution. 

"Lobby  Members."  —  The  rooms  surrounding  the 
legislative  chambers  are  called  lobbies.  Members  of 
the  Legislature  are  accustomed  to  retire  there  for  con- 
versation and  to  meet  their  friends.  The  Constitution 
recognizes  the  right  of  petition  for  a  redress  of  griev- 
ances.1 As  ordinarily  understood,  a  petition  is  a  written 
request  presented  to  the  entire  House.  The  legislature 
can  often  be  moved  more  effectively  by  private  inter- 
views with  the  few  members  who  have  control  of  the 
matter  of  interest.  Railroad  companies,  manufacturers, 
and  men  engaged  in  other  industries  which  may  be 
benefited  or  injured  by  changes  in  the  laws ;  states, 
cities  or  other  bodies  desiring  appropriations  for  some 
public  improvement;  reformers,  and  all  other  classes 
who  are  anxious  to  secure  some  legislation,  are  accus- 
tomed, instead  of  relying  upon  open  petition  to  Con- 
gress, to  employ  men  and  women  who  are  skilled  in  the 
art  of  influencing  legislators.  Multitudes  of  these  are 
supported  in  Washington,  some  with  higher  salaries 
1  Amendment  I. 


METHODS   OF  CONDUCTING  BUSINESS.          191 

than  members  of  Congress.  They  are  known  as  mem- 
bers of  the  lobby,  or  the  "third  chamber."  Some  men 
of  talent  continue  long  in  this  work.  The  fact  that  so 
large  a  share  of  legislation  is  by  means  of  committees 
sitting  in  secret  is  peculiarly  favorable  to  the  power  of 
a  lobbyist. 

Political  Parties  in  England.  —  Congress  has  always 
been  the  chief  source  and  centre  of  party  life.  A 
private  meeting  of  members  of  one  political  party 
for  conference  is  called  a  Congressional  Caucus.  It 
is  by  means  of  the  caucus  that  each  party  is  enabled 
to  keep  its  members  in  harmony  in  the  two  houses. 
In  the  English  Parliament,  the  parties  are  kept  in  har- 
monious action  through  the  agency  of  the  Cabinet. 
The  Cabinet  is  called  the  "government."  Members 
of  the  political  party  which  for  the  time  is  in  the -major- 
ity and  supports  the  government,  sit  together  at  the 
right  of  the  speaker,  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  occu- 
pying the  front  bench.  The  front  bench  on  the  left  is 
occupied  by  the  recognized  leaders  of  the  opposition, 
and  other  members  of  the  party  in  opposition  sit  on 
the  same  side  of  the  chamber.  All  important  bills,  espe- 
cially all  bills  involving  party  issues,  are  introduced  by 
the  Cabinet.  The  line  of  action  of  the  party  in  oppo- 
sition is  determined  by  its  recognized  leaders.  The 
members  of  the  party  are  seldom  left  in  doubt  as  to 
the  position  of  their  party. 

Parties  in  Congress.  —  In  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  there  is  no  cabinet ;  there  is  usually  no  distinct 
party  committed  to  the  support  of  the  government.  It 
often  happens  that  the  President  and  the  majority  in 
one  or  both  houses  of  Congress  are  of  opposite  parties. 


192  MATTERS  CHIEFLY  FEDERAL. 

There  are  often  no  recognized  leaders  of  the  parties  in 
Congress.  Bills  are  reported  from  committees  made 
up  of  members  of  both  parties.  It  often  happens  that 
a  member  cannot  tell  how  he  should  vote  in  order  to 
harmonize  with  his  party.  The  great  body  are  in  doubt 
as  to  what  should  be  the  attitude  of  their  part)*.  In 
such  a  case  Congress  may  adjourn  in  order  that  the 
members  of  each  party  may  meet  in  caucus  and  decide 
what  they  will  do.  The  meeting  is  held  with  closed 
doors,  and  usually  all  who  go  into  caucus  abide  by  its 
decision.  The  effort  of  the  caucus  is  to  adopt  some 
line  of  policy  in  which  all  the  party  will  unite. 

At  the  beginning  of  each  Congress  the  seats  are 
distributed  among  the  members,  the  right  of  prior 
choice  being  determined  by  lot.  It  is  customary  for 
the  Democrats  to  select  the  seats  on  the  right  of  the 
presiding  officer,  and  for  the  Republicans  to  occupy 
those  on  the  left;  but  there  is  no  sharply  drawn  line 
of  division  as  in  the  English  Parliament. 


PAET  V. 

CONSTITUTIONS. 

CHAPTER   XXXV. 

GENERAL   DESCRIPTION    OF    THE   CONSTITUTION. 

Constitution  Defined.  —  In  a  broad  sense  of  the 
word,  every  government  has  a  constitution  ;  that  is,  an 
understanding  or  customary  way  by  which  its  parts 
work  together.  But  the  title  usually  implies  also  that 
the  arrangement  is  stable,  and  is  not  dependent  upon 
any  one  man.  An  absolute  monarchy  is  called  a  govern- 
ment without  a  constitution,  while  a  limited  monarchy 
is  called  a  government  with  a  constitution.  The  Eng- 
lish monarchy  has  always  been  limited  or  constitutional. 
The  constitution  of  England  is  the  combination  of  cus- 
toms, laws,  and  understandings,  in  accordance  with 
which  the  different  classes  enjoy  their  rights  and  privi- 
leges, and  the  various  parts  of  the  government  are  kept 
in  harmonious  action.  In  American  politics  the  term 
is  most  frequently  used  of  the  written  frame  of  govern- 
ment, either  of  the  nation  or  of  some  state.  Japan  has 
recently  changed  from  an  absolute  to  a  constitutional 
monarchy,  under  a  written  constitution. 

Constitutional  Checks.  —  The  government  of  the 
United  States  is  remarkable  for  the  number  and  effi- 

193 


194  CONSTITUTIONS. 

ciency  of  the  constitutional  checks  upon  the  power  of 
majorities.  In  case  of  the  federal  government :  1.  A 
bill  which  has  received  the  sanction  of  a  majority  in 
one  house  of  Congress,  but  fails  of  the  approval  of  the 
other  house,  is  effectually  defeated.  2.  Though  ap- 
proved by  both  houses  it  may  be  defeated  by  the  Presi- 
dent's veto.  3.  In  rare  instances  a  President,  after  a 
measure  has  been  passed  over  his  veto,  has  refused  to 
execute  it,  because  he  believed  it  to  be  in  conflict  with 
the  Constitution.  In  such  a  case  the  measure  could 
have  no  effect  until  a  President  was  elected  who  would 
enforce  it.  4.  When  an  act  is  enforced  by  the  ex- 
ecutive, a  case  may  be  brought  in  the  federal  courts, 
and  these  may  decide  that  it  is  unconstitutional  and 
therefore  void.  5.  It  is  still  possible  to  change  the 
Constitution ;  but  to  do  this  requires  the  approval  of 
two-thirds  of  both  houses  of  Congress  and  the  sanction 
of  a  majority  of  three-fourths  of  the  state  legislatures. 
In  the  states  the  system  of  checks  is  quite  similar.  In 
some  of  them  the  veto  power  of  the  governor  is  greater, 
and  in  others  it  is  less,  than  that  of  the  President,  and 
in  still  others  there  is  no  veto  power.  In  New  York  it 
is  greater  in  two  respects :  the  governor  may  veto  a 
part  of  a  bill  appropriating  money  and  approve  the 
rest;  and  he  is  allowed  thirty  days  in  which  he  may 
veto  bills  passed  during  the  last  ten  days  of  the  session. 
The  courts  of  a  state  may  rule  that  a  law  is  void  because 
it  conflicts  with  either  the  state  constitution  or  the 
United  States  Constitution ;  or  the  federal  courts  may 
hold  it  void  because  in  conflict  with  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.  If  it  is  the  state  constitution 
which  stands  in  the  way,  it  may  be  changed  in  most 


DESCRIPTION   OF  THE  CONSTITUTION.          I9o 

states  by  a  majority  of  each  of  the  two  houses  of  the 
legislature,  the  change  being  ratified  by  a  majority  of 
the  voters  of  the  state.  Further  delay  is  secured  in 
some  states  by  requiring  the  sanction  of  two  legislatures 
before  the  amendment  can  be  submitted  to  the  people. 

Source  of  Authority.  —  From  the  foregoing  para- 
graphs it  will  be  observed  that  all  the  various  agencies 
of  government  are  subject  to  the  authority  of  the  Con- 
stitution. The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  is 
the  final  interpreter  of  the  Federal  Constitution  and  of 
all  state  constitutions,  laws,  and  acts  which  may  be  held 
to  conflict  with  it.  But  the  Constitution  itself  derives 
its  authority  from  the  people. 

The  convention  which  framed  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion spoke  in  the  name  of  the  people.  The  acts  of  the 
convention  became  binding  when  accepted  and  ratified 
by  the  people.  The  constitution  of  a  state  has  a  similar 
origin.  A  convention  representing  the  people  forms  a 
constitution,  which,  when  ratified  by  the  people,  goes 
into  operation  on  the  retirement  of  previous  authorities. 
Nearly  all  the  older  states  have  displaced  the  constitu- 
tions first  formed  by  the  adoption  of  new  ones.  Some 
of  the  state  constitutions  direct  the  calling  of  a  con- 
vention to  revise  the  constitution  at  certain  stated 
periods.  The  Federal  Constitution  requires  Congress, 
on  the  application  of  two-thirds  of  the  states,  to  call  a 
national  convention  for  proposing  amendments  to  the 
Constitution,  but  such  a  convention  has  never  been 
called. 


196  CONSTITUTIONS. 

CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

SOME  EXPLANATIONS   OF   WRITTEN   CONSTITUTIONS. 

ALL  that  has  been  said  thus  far  may  be  viewed  as 
explanatory  of  the  state  and  Federal  constitutions. 
These  are  best  understood  in  the  light  of  what  the  vari- 
ous governmental  agencies  are  doing. 

Frame  of  Government  for  Counties  and  Town- 
ships. —  In  the  constitution  of  West  Virginia,  adopted 
in  1868,  there  is  a  complete  frame  of  government  for 
counties  and  townships.  Under  such  a  constitution, 
the  government  of  the  township  rests  upon  the  same 
authority  as  the  general  government  of  the  state.  In 
other  states  the  constitution  makes  it  the  duty  of  the 
legislature  to  provide  a  frame  of  government  for  coun- 
ties and  townships.  If  nothing  is  said  in  the  constitution, 
the  legislature  has  full  power  over  all  local  municipali- 
ties. 

Organization  of  Courts.  —  Every  state  constitution 
provides  for  the  organization  of  the  Supreme  Court,  or 
a  court  of  highest  jurisdiction,  and  nearly  all  for  courts 
of  an  inferior  grade ;  but  there  is  great  variety  among 
the  constitutions  as  to  these  regulations.  Some  leave 
nearly  all  details  to  the  legislature ;  others  contain  a 
large  body  of  rules  for  the  organization  of  courts.  The 
constitution  of  Iowa,  adopted  in  1857,  provided  for  one 
Supreme  Court  and  eleven  district  courts.  The  legis- 
lature was  forbidden  to  increase  the  number  of  district 
courts  more  rapidly  than  by  adding  one  in  four  years. 
The  population  increased  so  fast  that  in  a  few  years  it 


WRITTEN   CONSTITUTIONS.  197 

was  impossible  for  the  district  judges  to  transact  the 
judicial  business.  The  legislature  relieved  these  judges 
by  requiring  each  judicial  district  to  elect  a  "  circuit 
judge,"  and  to  this  court  was  given  all  probate  business 
formerly  in  the  hands  of  the  district  court,  and  equal 
'and  concurrent  jurisdiction  in  all  civil  cases.  Later  an 
amendment  was  carried  giving  to  the  legislature  full 
power  to  fix  the  number  of  the  judges. 

"  The  Legislature  shall  have  Power."  —  The  state- 
ments in  the  Federal  Constitution  that  Congress  shall 
have  power  to  do  certain  things  are  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance, because  the  courts  hold  that  Congress  can 
exercise  only  such  powers  as  are  conferred  by  the  Con- 
stitution. Such  a  provision  in  a  state  constitution  is 
usually  of  no  effect,  unless  it  modifies  the  meaning  of 
some  other  clause.  The  constitution  of  Texas,  of  1845, 
contains  the  provision  that  the  legislature  shall  have 
power  to  exempt  from  taxation  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars'  worth  of  household  goods  for  each  family.  But 
the  legislature  had  that  power  without  the  words.  If 
the  Constitution  should  say,  "  The  legislature  shall  have 
power  to  coin  money,"  the  words  would  have  no  force, 
because  in  conflict  with  the  Federal  Constitution.  All 
state  constitutions  declare  who  may  vote.  A  clause 
giving  to  the  legislature  power  to  change  the  provisions 
in  certain  particulars  has  a  real  value.  If  the  Constitu- 
tion should  simply  say,  "  All  male  citizens  over  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  shall  have  a  right  to  vote,"  and  a 
statute  should  provide  that  one  convicted  of  a  certain 
crime  shall  not  vote,  the  plea  might  be  made  that  the 
law  was  in  conflict  with  the  Constitution.  But  there 
would  be  no  ground  for  the  plea  if  the  Constitution 


198  CONSTITUTIONS. 

said  also  that  the  legislature  should  have  power  to 
deprive  by  law  of  the  right  to  vote  those  convicted  of 
crime.  In  cases  where  the  Constitution  makes  a  par- 
tial provision,  and  leaves  the  legislature  to  complete  or 
modify  it,  this  may  be  indicated  by  a  clause  conferring 
power.  Or,  if  the  Constitution  has  deprived  the  legis- 
lature of  power,  it  may  be  restored  by  an  amendment 
bestowing  the  power. 

Commands  upon  the  Legislature.  —  Some  of  the 
clauses  in  the  constitutions,  which  say  that  the  legisla- 
ture shall  have  power  to  do  a  certain  thing,  are  appar- 
ently intended  to  indicate  the  duty  of  the  legislature. 
All  the  state  constitutions  abound  in  commands  and 
directions  to  the  legislature.  Some  have  classed  these 
directions  among  the  useless  parts  of  the  constitutions, 
since,  it  is  maintained,  there  is  no  way  to  compel  the 
legislature  to  act.  It  is  true,  legislators  who  take  an 
oath  to  support  the  Constitution,  often  disregard  some 
of  its  commands.  Provisions  which  the  people  have 
forgotten,  or  care  nothing  for,  the  representatives  of 
the  people  may  disregard ;  but  if  a  number  of  persons 
desire  the  thing  enjoined,  the  constitutional  requirement 
may  make  it  easier  to  induce  the  legislature  to  act. 
Some  of  the  states,  without  any  direction  in  the  Consti- 
tution, have  established  a  public  school  system ;  but  in 
a  majority  of  cases  constitutional  provisions  have  pre- 
ceded effective  legislation.  It  is  presumable  that  these 
constitutional  provisions  have  contributed  much  to  the 
stability  and  success  of  the  system. 

Prohibitions  upon  the  Legislature.  —  The  Federal 
Constitution  contains  several  definite  restrictions  upon 
Congress,  and  a  few  upon  the  legislatures  of  the  states, 


WRITTEN   CONSTITUTIONS.  199 

while  the  various  state  constitutions  have  many  addi- 
tional prohibitions  upon  the  state  legislatures.  The 
courts  have  uniformly  ruled  that  an  act  of  the  legisla- 
ture in  violation  of  a  constitutional  prohibition  is  void. 
Besides  Art.  I.  Sec.  IX.  of  the  Federal  Constitution, 
which  contains  formal  restrictions  upon  Congress,  and 
Sec.  X.  of  the  same  article,  which  restricts  the  states, 
the  first  ten  amendments  still  farther  limit  the  action  of 
Congress,  while  the  bills  of  rights  in  the  state  constitu- 
tions restrict  the  action  of  the  state  legislatures. 

The  United  States  Constitution  as  affecting-  States. 
—  Some  of  the  prohibitions  upon  the  action  of  states 
found  in  Sec.  X.  of  Art.  I.  are  repeated  in  the  state  con- 
stitutions. The  state  legislature  is  forbidden  by  both 
constitutions  to  pass  an  ex  post  facto  law.  Such  a 
provision  in  a  state  constitution  is  not  without  use. 
The  state  courts  are  usually  the  first  to  interpret  "a  state 
law;  and  the  prohibition  in  the  state  constitution  ren- 
ders it  less  likely  that  the  provision  in  the  Federal 
Constitution  will  be  drawn  into  controversy,  and  thus 
lead  to  an  appeal  to  the  Federal  Supreme  Court. 

Many  of  the  restrictions  in  the  Federal  Constitution 
which  are  popularly  understood  to  bind  the  action  of 
states  do  not  have  that  effect.  The  first  amendment 
declares  that  "  Congress  shall  make  no  law "  of  either 
of  certain  specified  classes. (^The  next  nine  amendments, 
which  were  adopted  with  it,  should  all  be  understood 
as  binding  upon  Congress  and  the  federal  government 
alone,  and  not  as  restricting  the  action  of  states/y'Sim- 
ilar  provisions  are  found  in  state  constitutions  j  and 
these  alone  limit  the  state.  The  fifth  amendment  says 
that  no  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital 


200  CONSTITUTIONS. 

or  otherwise  infamous  crime,  unless  on  presentment  or 
indictment  of  a  grand  jury.  As  interpreted  by  the 
courts,  this  does  not  restrict  the  action  of  states.  A 
state  may  abolish  the  grand  jury,  and  some  of  them 
have  done  so.  Congress  cannot  abolish  the  grand  jury 
without  a  previous  change  in  the  Constitution.  The 
same  reasoning  holds  in  respect  to  the  trial  jury.  The 
states  have  full  power  to  abolish  it  so  far  as  the  Federal 
Constitution  is  concerned.  The  Constitution  restricts 
federal  officers  in  the  matter  of  excessive  bail  and  the 
infliction  of  cruel  and  unusual  punishments.  If  the 
people  of  a  state  desire  a  like  restriction  on  state  officers, 
it  should  be  inserted  in  the  state  constitution. 

Restrictions  upon  the  Executive  and  the  Judi- 
ciary. —  Commands  or  prohibitions  in  a  constitution 
usually  affect  more  directly  the  legislature,  yet  many 
of  them  bind  also  the  executive  and  the  judiciary.  The 
executive  as  well  as  the  legislature  may  be  tempted  to 
take  private  property  for  public  use  without  just  com- 
pensation. The  constitutional  provision  that  the  privi- 
lege of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  suspended, 
affects  especially  the  judiciary.  It  guarantees  the  right 
of  the  United  States  courts  to  bring  before  them  any 
person  deprived  of  liberty,  and  claiming  that  his  con- 
finement is  unlawful.  The  issuing  of  the  writ  by  state 
courts  is  guaranteed  by  state  constitutions.  Federal 
courts  are  accustomed  to  grant  the  writ  of  habeas  cor- 
pus to  one  who  is  in  prison  under  state  authority,  in 
violation  of  some  federal  law,  or  treaty,  or  right  of 
the  Federal  Constitution.  Federal  prisoners  have  also 
been  released  by  state  judges. 


CONSTITUTIONS  AND   ORDINARY  LAW.          201 

CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

CONSTITUTIONS   AND   ORDINARY   LAW. 

The  Federal  Constitution.  —  There  is  little  diffi- 
culty in  distinguishing  the  provisions  of  the  Federal 
Constitution  from  ordinary  statutes.  They  are  funda- 
mental. A  frame  of  government  is  provided,  and  the 
powers  and  duties  of  the  officers  are  defined.  The 
details  of  legislation  are  committed  to  Congress.  The 
provision  about  fugitive  slaves,  that  a  person  held  to 
service  or  labor  in  one  state,  escaping  into  another 
"  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom 
such  service  or  labor  may  be  due,"1  is  the  nearest  ap- 
proach to  an  ordinary  statute.  On  its  authority  a  court 
might  issue  a  warrant  to  take  an  alleged  fugitive,  and, 
on  proof  of  ownership,  might  deliver  him  into  the 
hands  of  his  master.  A  brief  statute  intended  to  give 
fuller  effect  to  this  provision  was  passed  by  Congress 
in  Washington's  administration,  and  a  very  stringent 
fugitive  slave  law  was  passed  in  1850. 

In  the  States.  —  It  is  much  more  difficult  to  distin- 
guish between  what  should  be  statute  and  what  should 
be  constitution  in  the  states.  The  fundamental  law  pro- 
vides for  officers  to  carry  on  the  government ;  it  com- 
mands them  to  do  certain  things  ;  it  may  confer  powers 
upon  them ;  it  may  forbid  them  to  do  certain  things ;  it 
makes  known  the  methods  by  which  the  people  wish  to  be 
governed.  When  the  constitution  goes  farther  than  this 
and  introduces  provisions  to  control  the  dealings  of  citi- 
zens with  each  other,  it  passes  from  matters  fundamental 
1  Art.  IV.  sec.  2,  cl.  3. 


202  CONSTITUTIONS. 

and  enters  the  field  of  ordinary  statute.  It  is  easy  to  draw 
this  distinction  in  theory,  but  it  is  difficult  to  hold  to  it 
in  practice. 

Some  of  the  first  constitutional  conventions  acted 
in  the  double  capacity  of  legislatures  and  conventions ; 
they  adopted  ordinances  or  laws  for  the  government  of 
the  people,  and  they  put  into  the  constitution  many  pro- 
visions which  are  not  fundamental.  In  the  constitution 
of  Pennsylvania,  adopted  in  1776,  there  is  the  statement 
that  houses  ought  to  be  provided  for  punishing  by  hard 
labor  those  who  shall  be  convicted  of  crimes  not  capital. 
"And  all  persons  at  proper  time  shall  be  permitted 
to  see  the  prisoners  at  their  labor."  In  the  same  con- 
nection, there  is  a  clause  "  that  the  inhabitants  of  this 
state  shall  have  liberty  to  fowl  and  hunt  in  seasonable 
times  on  the  lands  they  hold,  and  all  other  lands  therein 
not  enclosed."  The  example  set  by  the  first  conven- 
tions has  been  followed  ever  since.  In  almost  any  state 
constitution  may  be  found  provisions  which  are  scarcely 
to  be  distinguished  from  ordinary  laws. 

Illinois.  —  The  constitution  of  Illinois,  adopted  in 
1870,  provides  for  the  control  of  banks,  railroads,  and 
warehouses.  Some  of  its  provisions  take  the  form  of 
directions  to  the  legislature  or  restrictions  upon  it, 
which  indicate  that  they  are  a  part  of  the  funda- 
mental law ;  others  have  the  form  of  ordinary  statutes. 
Stockholders  in  a  bank  are  made  personally  responsible 
for  its  debts.  Banks  are  forbidden  to  suspend  specie 
payments.  Railroad  corporations  are  required  to  main- 
tain in  the  state  a  public  office  in  which  shall  be  kept 
records  of  the  ownership  and  transfer  of  all  the  stock  of 
the  corporation.  The  rolling  stock  and  all  movables  of 


CONSTITUTIONS  AND   ORLINAEY  LAW.         203 

the  railroad  are  declared  to  be  personal  property,  and 
liable  to  seizure  for  debt.  The  owners  of  warehouses 
in  cities  of  one  hundred  thousand  inhabitants  or  more 
are  required  to  make  a  weekly  statement  of  the  contents, 
and  to  keep  a  copy  of  the  statement  posted  in  the  ware- 
house* 011  which  shall  be  noted  daily  the  changes  made 
in  the  stores ;  and  any  owner  of  property  stored  shall 
have  access  to  all  the  books  and  records  of  the  ware- 
house in  regard  to  such  property.  Similar  provisions 
are  found  in  the  statutes  of  other  states  instead  of  in 
their  constitutions. 

Railroads  and  State  Constitutions.  —  In  about  half 
of  the  state  constitutions  there  is  some  regulation  con- 
cerning railroads.  These  provisions  may  be  classified  as 
follows:  1.  Powers  are  conferred  upon  the  legislature 
to  fix  rates,  to  establish  maximum  charges,  and  to  pre- 
vent combinations.  2.  Restrictions  are  placed  upon  the 
legislature.  The  most  common  of  these  forbids  the  state 
to  loan  money  to  a  railroad  corporation,  and  in  many 
states  this  prohibition  is  extended  to  counties  and  other 
municipalities.  3.  The  legislature  is  instructed,  directed, 
or  commanded  to  make  laws  for  the  control  of  railroads, 
as,  for  instance,  to  establish  maximum  charges  or  to 
prevent  combinations.  4.  Other  provisions  have  the 
form  of  statutes.  Examples  have  been  instanced  in  the 
case  of  Illinois.  Railroad  companies  are  sometimes  for- 
bidden to  "  water  "  their  stock,  or  to  increase  it  without 
a  public  notice  of  sixty  days  ;  or  the  different  companies 
are  required  to  connect  their  tracks  and  transfer  goods 
and  cars. 

Now,  what  is  the  position  of  those  states  in  which  the 
constitutions  say  nothing  011  the  subject  of  railroads  ? 


204  CONSTITUTIONS. 

1.  They  have  all  the  power  to  control  railroads  possessed 
by  any  state.  The  words  in  a  state  constitution  "  the 
legislature  shall  have  power  "  do  not  convey  any  power. 
Some  of  the  states  in  which  the  constitution  is  silent 
have  gone  farthest  and  been  most  effective  in  legis- 
lative control  of  railroads.  2.  Every  restriction  removes 
power  from  the  legislature.  If  the  constitution  says 
that  money  shall  not  be  loaned  to  a  corporation,  the 
courts  would  refuse  to  give  effect  to  any  act  in  viola- 
tion of  the  restriction.  In  the  absence  of  such  a  pro- 
vision, a  legislature  has  power  to  invest  money  in  rail- 
roads, and  yet  can  prevent  a  county  or  any  municipality 
from  doing  the  same.  3.  When  a  constitution  com- 
mands the  legislature  to  make  certain  laws  to  control 
railroads,  a  legislator  is  by  his  oath  under  moral  obliga- 
tion to  obey ;  and  his  constituents  may  appeal  to  him  on 
this  ground.  Yet  it  is  possible  that  all  the  members 
may  act  in  good  faith  and  still  fail  to  pass  the  laws 
because  of  inability  to  agree.  In  the  states  having  no 
such  directions  in  their  constitution  the  citizens  appeal 
directly  to  the  legislature  for  what  they  want.  4.  A  pro- 
vision having  the  form  of  a  statute  inserted  in  the  con- 
stitution may  indirectly  serve  to  limit  the  legislature. 
Additional  laws  must  be  in  harmony  with  the  constitu- 
tion, else  the  courts  will  nullify  them.  If  the  constitution 
forbids  combinations,  or  pools,  the  legislature  cannot  pass 
a  law  regulating  pools.  Where  there  are  no  such  pro- 
visions, the  legislature  has  a  clear  field,  and  may  make, 
amend,  or  repeal  laws,  as  seems  best  at  the  time. 

From  these  observations,  it  appears  that  the  one  class 
of  provisions  in  the  fundamental  law  which  is  especially 
effective  is  that  which  deprives  the  legislature  of  power. 


CONSTITUTIONS  AND   ORDINARY  LAW.          205 

If  the  people  wish  to  keep  the  legislature  or  the  muni- 
cipalities of  the  state  from  investing  money  in  railroads, 
they  can  effectually  deprive  them  of  this  power  by  a 
clause  in  the  constitution. 

Lotteries.  —  It  was  customary  a  hundred  years  ago  for 
governments  to  license  lotteries  for  public  or  charitable 
purposes.  During  the  present  century  there  has  been  a 
growing  sentiment  against  lotteries,  which  has  found 
expression  in  three-fourths  of  our  constitutions.  The 
first  state  to  act  in  this  direction  was  Tennessee.  A 
clause  inserted  in  the  Constitution  of  1834  reads,  "  The 
legislature  shall  have  no  power  to  authorize  lotteries 
for  any  purpose,  and  shall  pass  laws  to  prohibit  the 
sale  of  lottery  tickets  in  this  state.''  This  clause  con- 
tains both  a  restriction  and  a  command  upon  the  legis- 
lature. This  form  is  followed  in  many  constitutions. 
In  other  states,  instead  of  directing  the  legislature,  the 
constitution  itself  prohibits  the  sale  of  lottery  tickets. 
In  some,  the  lotteries  already  authorized  are  permitted 
to  be  closed  out;  but  the  constitution  of  Missouri,  of 
1865,  says,  "  Lotteries  already  authorized  shall  not  be 
drawn."  Louisiana  is  the  only  state  which  continues 
to  authorize  lotteries. 

Duelling.  —  As  explained  in  a  former  chapter,  the 
practice  of  settling  disputes  between  citizens  by  battle, 
or  duel,  was  not  only  permitted,  but  was  required  by 
the  Norman  customs  and  laws.  The  duel  long  con- 
tinued to  be  the  legal  and  customary  means  of  settling 
disputes  affecting  the  honor  or  the  character  of  men  and 
women.  The  first  state  constitutions  say  nothing  about 
duelling;  for  although  without  the  sanction  of  law, 
yet  the  practice  was  not  uncommon,  and  there  was  no 


206  CONSTITUTIONS. 

strong  public  sentiment  against  it.  The  growth  of  a 
hostile  sentiment  received  constitutional  notice  first  in 
the  state  of  Mississippi,  in  1817,  in  the  following  words, 
"  The  General  Assembly  shall  have  power  to  pass  such 
penal  laws  to  suppress  the  evil  practice  of  duelling,  ex- 
tending to  the  disqualification  from  office  or  the  tenure 
thereof,  as  they  may  deem  expedient."  Twenty-seven 
states  have  followed  the  example  of  Mississippi,  in 
placing  in  the  constitution  some  provision  against  duel- 
ling. These  take  one  of  the  following  forms :  1.  The 
legislature  is  empowered  to  prohibit  duelling.  2.  It  is 
commanded  or  directed  to  prohibit  duelling.  3.  The 
constitution  itself  prohibits  duelling,  and  in  several 
states  deprives  those  having  a  part  in  a  duel  of  the 
right  to  vote  or  hold  office  in  the  state.  The  constitu- 
tion of  Texas,  ratified  in  1868  and  in  1876,  requires  all 
officers  to  take  an  oath  that  they  have  had  no  share 
either  as  principal  or  second  in  the  fighting  of  a  duel 
with  deadly  weapons. 

Such  provisions  are  most  numerous  in  the  constitu- 
tions of  that  part  of  the  country  where  duelling  has  been 
most  prevalent.  There  are  laws  in  the  other  states  also, 
defining  and  punishing  the  crime. 

Bribery  and  Betting1  at  Elections.  —  Nearly  every 
state  constitution  contains  some  provision  respecting 
bribery.  Some  of  them  empower  the  legislature  to  de- 
prive a  citizen  who  has  been  convicted  of  bribery  of 
the  right  to  vote.  This  is  a  case  where  a  grant  of  power 
removes  a  restriction.  The  constitution  itself  determines 
in  the  first  place  who  shall  vote.  Without  its  express 
authority  the  legislature  would  have  no  power  to  deprive 
a  citizen  of  the  right  to  vote.  The  constitution  recog- 


CONSTITUTIONS  AND   ORDINARY  LAW.          207 

nizes  two  classes  of  bribery  cases :  1.  The  bestowing 
of  gifts  to  influence  voters  at  elections.  2.  The  bestow- 
ing of  gifts  to  influence  the  official  acts  of  legislative, 
executive,  or  judicial  officers.  In  successful  bribery 
there  are  two  offenders,  the  one  who  gives  and  the  one 
who  receives  the  bribe.  When  a  bribe  is  offered  and 
refused,  there  is  only  one  criminal.  Some  of  the  consti- 
tutions require  the  members  of  the  legislature  to  bind 
themselves  by  oath  or  affirmation  not  to  accept  bribes. 
In  Tennessee,  any  person  convicted  of  giving  or  offering 
a  bribe,  to  influence  a  voter  to  elect  him  to  an  office, 
is  for  six  years  thereafter  disqualified  from  holding  the 
office.  In  New  York  and  a  few  other  states,  the  legis- 
lature is  empowered  to  deprive  a  voter  of  the  right  to 
vote  at  an  election  on  whose  issues  he  has  offered  a  bet, 
or  wager. 

Slavery  and  the  State  Constitutions.  —  Slavery 
existed  in  every  state  of  the  original  thirteen  when  the 
first  constitutions  were  framed.  The  early  constitutions 
are  generally  without  definite  provisions  on  the  subject 
of  slavery.  The  Virginia  constitution,  1776,  accuses 
King  George  III.  of  prompting  the  negroes  to  rise  in 
arms.  "  Those  very  negroes  whom,  by  an  inhuman  use 
of  his  negative  [veto],  he  had  refused  us  permission 
to  exclude  by  law."  In  the  same  year  the  South  Caro- 
lina constitution  accuses  the  royal  governor  of  freeing 
slaves  and  arming  them  against  their  masters.  The 
Vermont  constitution,  of  1777,  says  that  no  male  person 
after  the  age  of  twenty-one,  or  female  after  the  age  of 
eighteen,  ought  to  be  held  as  a  slave.  The  Tennessee 
constitution,  of  1796,  provides  that  a  slave  shall  not  be 
taxed  higher  than  two  hundred  acres  of  land.  No  con- 


208  CONSTITUTIONS. 

stitution  has  ever  in  express  terms  provided  for  the 
establishment,  introduction,  or  maintenance  of  slavery. 
Massachusetts  was  the  first  of  the  thirteen  states  to 
abolish  slavery ;  yet  in  its  constitution  there  is  no  men- 
tion of  slavery. 

The  famous  constitution  of  Missouri,  which  was  sub- 
mitted to  Congress  for  approval  in  1820,  the  discussion 
of  which  led  to  the  Missouri  Compromise,  had  in  it :  1. 
An  article  forbidding  the  legislature  to  emancipate  slaves 
without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  and  without  full 
compensation,  or  to  prohibit  actual  settlers  from  bring- 
ing their  slaves  into  the  state.  2.  The  legislature  was 
empowered  to  prohibit  the  bringing  in  of  slaves  of  crim- 
inal character,  and  slaves  who  had  been  imported  in 
violation  of  laws  of  the  United  States.  3.  It  was  made 
the  duty  of  the  legislature  to  exclude  free  negroes,  and 
to  require  the  humane  treatment  of  slaves. 

After  the  agitation  for  the  overthrow  of  slavery  began, 
constitutional  provisions  for  its  defence  appeared  in  some 
of  the  slave  states.  The  constitution  of  Virginia,  in 
1850,  required  that  emancipated  slaves  should  be  re- 
enslaved  if  they  did  not  leave  the  state  within  one  year 
after  emancipation.  Power  was  granted  to  the  legisla- 
ture to  forbid  the  emancipation  of  slaves  by  their  owners, 
and  to  make  laws  for  ridding  the  state  of  free  negroes. 

After  the  Civil  War,  clauses  were  inserted  in  the  con- 
stitutions of  all  the  former  slave  states  declaring  that 
slavery  should  not  exist  in  the  state. 

Intoxicating  Liquors.  —  The  early  constitutions  say 
nothing  concerning  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors.  In 
the  years  1850  and  1851,  Michigan  and  Ohio  inserted 
clauses  in  their  constitutions  depriving  the  legislatures 


CONSTITUTIONS  AND   OBDINABY  LAW.       209 

of  the  power  to  license  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors. 
It  was  expected  that  these  provisions  would  be  followed 
by  laws  prohibiting  the  traffic.  Such  laws,  however,  were 
not  made  ;  and  the  constitutional  restriction  upon  the  leg- 
islature made  it  difficult  to  limit  the  traffic  in  any  way. 
Laws  passed  to  limit  the  traffic  by  taxation  were  declared 
by  the  courts  to  be  in  conflict  with  the  constitution. 
Thus  the  act,  which  was  carried  in  the  interest  of  restric- 
tion, had  the  opposite  effect  in  practice.  Michigan,  in 
1876,  removed  the  restriction  upon  the  legislature. 

Prohibitory  Amendments.  —  Several  states  have  in 
recent  years  adopted  amendments  to  their  constitutions 
prohibiting  in  express  terms  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
intoxicating  drinks,  and  making  it  the  duty  of  their  legis- 
latures to  pass  laws  to  render  the  provisions  effective.  In 
the  state  of  Rhode  Island  an  amendment  was  carried ;  but 
the  legislature  and  executive  failed  to  give  due  support 
to  the  measure,  and  after  two  years  the  people  reversed 
their  action,  and  the  amendment  was  revoked.  The  state 
of  Maine,  after  maintaining  prohibition  by  statute  for 
more  than  thirty  years,  inserted  a  prohibitory  amend- 
ment in  the  constitution.  The  constitution  of  Texas,  in 
1876,  made  it  the  duty  of  the  legislature  to  provide  for 
voting  by  counties,  towns,  and  cities,  from  time  to  time, 
on  the  question  of  prohibiting  the  liquor  traffic  in  the 
locality.  In  1882  a  prohibitory  amendment  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  voters  of  Iowa,  and  had  a  majority  of 
the  votes  in  its  favor.  Immediately  a  case  was  brought 
in  the  courts,  to  test  the  validity  of  the  amendment.  The 
Supreme  Court  ruled  that  the  amendment  was  void  and 
of  no  force,  because  there  had  been  departures  from  the 
provisions  of  the  constitution,  in  the  method  of  its  adop- 


210  CONSTITUTIONS. 

tion.  The  legislature,  after  this  decision,  passed  a  strin- 
gent prohibitory  law.  The  same  court  ruled  that  this 
law  is  constitutional,  and  has  given  effect  to  its  most 
stringent  features. 

Other  Statutory  Provisions.  —  The  constitutions  of 
Michigan  and  some  other  states  secure  to  the  wife,  as 
against  the  debts  of  her  husband,  the  possession  of  all 
the  property  which  she  had  before  marriage,  and  all  she 
may  receive  by  gift  or  inheritance  after  marriage.  In 
other  states  the  rights  of  the  wife  to  property  are  regu- 
lated by  statute.  In  some  of  the  mining  states  are  found 
rules  for  the  owning  and  operating  of  mines.  The  con- 
stitution of  Oregon,  of  1857,  forbids  a  Chinaman  to  own 
or  work  a  mining  claim.  The  constitution  of  Colorado 
contains  clauses  regulating  the  appropriation  and  use 
of  the  water  of  the  state. 

No  single  state  constitution  contains  a  large  body  of 
statutes ;  yet,  by  taking  all  the  constitutions,  a  quantity 
of  minute  legislation  may  be  collected,  showing  that 
the  line  between  fundamental  law  and  ordinary  law  has 
not  been  carefully  observed. 

The  statutory  clauses  do  not  usually  have  the  full 
form  of  statutes,  but  require  an  act  of  the  legislature  to 
make  them  complete.  Often,  when  an  act  is  forbidden, 
the  legislature  is  directed  to  pass  laws  affixing  appropri- 
ate penalties.  The  constitution  of  Maryland,  of  1864, 
contains  the  following:  "Any  person  who  shall,  after 
this  constitution  shall  have  gone  into  effect,  detain  in 
slavery  any  person  emancipated  by  the  provisions  of 
this  constitution,  shall,  on  conviction,  be  fined  not  less 
than  five  hundred  dollars  nor  more  than  five  thousand 
dollars,  or  be  imprisoned  not  more  than  five  years ;  and 


EXPLANATION  OF  SPECIAL  PASSAGES.        '211 

any  of  the  judges  of  this  state  shall  discharge  on  habeas 
corpus  any  person  .so  detained  in  slavery."  This,  it 
will  be  observed,  is  a  full  and  complete  statute,  and 
requires  no  act  of  the  legislature  to  provide  for  its 
enforcement. 

Special  Legislation.  —  While  Congress  can  legislate 
on  comparatively  few  subjects,  there  are  many  within 
the  power  of  a  state  legislature.  Bills  have  come  be- 
fore the  legislatures  in  such  numbers  that  they  have 
been  passed  into  laws  without  receiving  due  attention. 
Many  abuses  have  been  removed,  and  the  work  of  legis- 
lation has  been  much  simplified,  by  forbidding  the  legis- 
lature to  pass  special  laws  on  certain  subjects.  The 
constitution  of  Illinois,  of  1870,  forbids  special  laws  on 
twenty-three  subjects,  among  which  are :  the  granting 
of  divorces,  the  changing  of  the  names  of  persons  or 
places,  the  incorporation  of  towns  and  cities,  and  chang- 
ing the  charters  of  cities.  The  legislature  cannot  change 
the  name  of  a  man  by  special  bill,  but  may  pass  a  law 
in  accordance  with  which  names  may  be  changed. 


CHAPTER   XXXVIIT. 

EXPLANATION   OF   SPECIAL   PASSAGES. 

THE  greater  part  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  may  be  read  and  understood  without  note  or 
comment.  Many  parts  have  been  explained  in  describ- 
ing the  institutions  for  which  it  gives  directions.  A 
few  of  the  clauses  not  explained  in  former  chapters  will 
here  be  noticed. 


212  CONSTITUTIONS. 

The  double  negative  appears  a  good  many  times, 
giving  obscurity  to  the  sentence,  especially  if  it  be  long 
and  complex.  Art.  L,  Sec.  II.,  clause  1,  means  that  no 
person  shall  lepresent  a  state  in  which  he  does  not  live. 

Slavery.  —  The  Constitution  did  not  contain  the 
word  "  slave "  or  "  slavery "  till  the  adoption  of  the 
thirteenth  amendment,  but  there  are  three  passages  in 
which  slaves  are  meant.  The  "  Three-fifths  of  all  other 
persons,"  Art.  I.,  Sec.  II.,  clause  3,  means  three-fifths 
of  the  slaves.  In  determining  the  basis  for  representa- 
tion, all  free  persons  of  all  colors  were  counted  except 
Indians  who  were  not  taxed.  Prisoners  were  counted 
as  freemen.  "  All  other  persons  "  were  the  slaves,  from 
whose  number  two-fifths  were  deducted,  and  the  remain- 
der was  added  to  the  number  of  freemen.  In  Sec.  IX. 
of  the  same  article,  Congress  is  forbidden  to  prohibit 
the  importation  of  slaves  before  1808,  but  is  permitted 
to  collect  a  tax  of  ten  dollars  upon  each  slave  imported. 
Instead  of  saying  "slaves,"  the  words  are,  "such  per- 
sons as  any  of  the  states  now  existing  shall  think  proper 
to  admit."  The  third  reference  to  slaves  is  the  clause 
which  requires  the  surrender  of  the  fugitive  slaves 
escaping  from  one  state  into  another.  The  words  by 
which  slaves  are  here  alluded  to  are,  "  No  person  held 
to  service  or  labor  in  one  state,  under  the  laws  thereof." 
John  Quincy  Adams  called  these  passages  the  "fig- 
leaves  of  the  Constitution."  Its  makers  felt  a  measure 
of  shame  for  the  existence  of  slavery,  and  disguised  as 
far  as  possible  the  references  to  it. 

Three  Classes  of  Senators.  —  The  first  Senate  was 
composed  of  twenty  members.  As  directed  in  Sec.  III., 
these  senators  divided  themselves  into  three  classes: 


EXPLANATION  OF  SPECIAL  PASSAGES.        213 

seven  of  them  served  two  years,  seven  served  four 
years,  and  six  of  them  served  six  years.  The  senatorial 
terms  for  the  first  class  run  from  1789,  1791,  1797, 
1803,  1809,  and  so  on,  by  periods  of  six  years  perpetu- 
ally. The  terms  of  the  second  class  run  from  1789  to 
1793,  1799,  1805,  etc.  The  third  class  goes  by  six-year 
periods  from  1789.  When  two  senators  were  admitted 
from  New  York,  one  was  put  in  the  first  class  and  one 
in  the  third.  When  two  senators  appeared  from  North 
Carolina  the  first  class  already  contained  eight  mem- 
bers, and  the  other  two  seven  each.  The  Constitution 
therefore  required  that  one  of  these  should  be  placed  in 
the  second  class,  that  is,  the  class  whose  full  six-year 
terms  date  from  1793  ;  and  the  other  in  the  third  class 
whose  six-year  terms  date  from  1789.  The  three  classes 
then  contained  eight  members  each.  When  the  two 
senators  from  Rhode  Island  entered  the  Senate,  two  of 
the  classes  were  increased  to  nine  each.  In  this  way 
the  three  classes  have  been  kept  as  nearly  equal  as  pos- 
sible. The  first  senators  from  a  new  state  are  always 
put  into  different  classes,  so  that  one  or  both  will  have 
for  the  first  time  a  term  of  less  than  six  years.  By  this 
arrangement  one-third  of  the  senators  is  chosen  every 
two  years. 

Electors.  —  One  meaning  of  the  word  elector  is  now 
more  commonly  expressed  by  the  word  voter.  It  has 
this  sense  in  Art.  I.,  Sec.  II.  The  clause  means  that 
all  who  have  a  right  to  vote  for  members  of  the  most 
numerous  branch  of  the  state  legislature  shall  have 
a  right  to  vote  for  representatives  to  Congress.  When 
the  Constitution  was  framed,  several  of  the  states  re- 
quired a  voter  to  own  property,  and  a  few  of  them 


214  CONSTITUTIONS. 

required  more  property  to  entitle  one  to  vote  for  a  state 
senator  than  for  a  member  of  the  more  numerous  branch 
of  the  legislature.  In  Art.  II.,  and  in  the  twelfth 
amendment,  the  word  elector  has  a  special  meaning. 
It  is  applied  to  those  who  are  chosen  to  cast  the  vote  of 
the  state  for  President  and  Vice-President. 

Yeas  and  Nays.  —  The  method  of  voting  usually 
followed  in  Congress  is  by  voice,  and  the  presiding  offi- 
cer decides  the  vote  by  the  sound.  In  cases  of  doubt, 
the  members  may  be  requested  to  stand  and  be  counted. 
If  members  are  not  satisfied,  they  may  call  for  the  yeas 
and  nays.  This  method  requires  a  roll-call  of  all  the 
members.  Those  voting  to  sustain  the  motion  answer 
"  yea "  or  aye ;  and  those  voting  against  the  motion 
answer  "  nay  "  or  no.  The  answers  are  all  entered  upon 
the  journal,  and  the  vote  of  each  is  thus  made  a  matter  of 
public  record.  The  Constitution,  Art.  I.,  Sec.  V.,  makes 
it  possible  for  one-fifth  of  the  members  present  to  com- 
pel the  yeas  and  nays  to  be  taken  upon  any  question. 
This  is  a  check  upon  injurious  legislation.  A  member 
might  secretly  vote  for  a  bad  bill,  who  would  be  deterred 
if  his  vote  is  to  be  a  matter  of  record.  Some  of  the 
state  constitutions  guard  still  farther  against  bad  legis- 
lation, by  authorizing  each  member  to  protest  against  a 
measure  and  have  his  objections  entered  upon  the  jour- 
nal. This  precludes  other  members  from  pleading 
ignorance  in  supporting  a  corrupt  measure. 

Vacancies.  —  A  vacancy  in  the  Senate  is  filled  by  the 
legislature  of  the  state  electing  a  new  senator  for  the 
unexpired  term.  If  the  legislature  is  not  in  session, 
the  governor  of  the  state  appoints  a  senator  to  fill  the 
office  till  the  legislature  convenes.  A  vacancy  in  the 


EXPLANATION   OF  SPECIAL  PASSAGES.         215 

House  is  filled  by  an  election  in  the  district  which  is  left 
without  a  member.  The  governor  of  the  state  issues  writs 
for  an  election  to  fill  the  vacancy,  often  appointing  it  on 
the  day  of  some  other  election  in  the  district. 

Compensation  of  Officers.  —  The  members  of  Con- 
gress fix  their  own  salaries  by  law.1  Senators  and  repre- 
sentatives have  received  the  same  compensation  except 
during  one  year,  1795,  when  the  senators  received  a 
dollar  a  day  more.  The  salary  was  fixed  in  1789  at  $ 6 
a  day  while  in  session,  in  1815  at  $  1,500  a  year,  in  1817 
at  |8  a  day,  in  1855  at  83,000  a  year.  In  1865  it  was 
changed  to  $5,000,  and  has  remained  at  that  rate  ever 
since  except  from  1871  to  1874,  when  it  was  $7,500. 
The  law  changing  the  salary  from  $5,000  to  $7,500  was 
passed  March  3,  1873,  and  was  made  to  apply  from 
March  4,  1871,  thus  giving  the  members  two  years  of 
back  pay.  This  caused  a  great  outcry  against  the  law, 
and  led  to  its  repeal  by  the  next  Congress.  In  every 
case  where  the  pay  of  members  has  been  increased  it  has 
been  made  to  apply  at  a  date  earlier  than  the  passage  of 
the  bill.  The  Constitution  in  express  terms  makes  it 
impossible  to  either  increase  or  diminish  the  compensa- 
tion of  the  President  during  his  term  of  office.2  Presi- 
dent Grant  during  his  first  term  received  a  salary  of 
$25,000  a  year,  and  during  the  second  term  it  was 
$50,000.  The  increase  was  at  the  beginning  of  the 
second  term.  Congress  is  permitted  by  the  Constitution 
to  increase  the  salary  of  a  judge  in  the  federal  courts 
during  his  term  of  office,  but  not  to  decrease  it.3 

Privileges  of  Congressmen.  —  The  Constitution  ex- 
empts Congressmen  from  liability  to  arrest  except  for 
i  Art.  I  sec.  6,  cL  1.  2  Art.  II.  sec.  1,  cl.  V.  3  Art.  III.  sec.  1. 


216  CONSTITUTIONS. 

treason,  felony,  and  breach  of  the  peace,  during  their  at- 
tendance at  the  sessions,  or  while  going  to  and  return- 
ing from  the  same.1  The  object  of  this  provision  is  to 
prevent  attempts  to  control  legislative  action  by  keep- 
ing members  away.  Members  are  also  privileged  from 
being  punished  out  of  the  houses  of  Congress  for  any- 
thing said  in  the  house.  This  is  to  secure  to  them  entire 
freedom  of  discussion.  Each  house  may  punish  its  own 
members  for  misconduct  in  speech  or  act. 

Civil  Officers  of  the  United  States.  —  The  phrase 
civil  officers  in  one  clause  of  the  Constitution  has  given 
rise  to  the  question  whether  Congressmen  are  civil 
officers.  Sec.  VI.,  Art.  I.,  says,  "  No  senator  or  rep- 
resentative shall,  during  the  term  for  which  he  was 
elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  United 
States,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emolu- 
ments whereof  shall  have  been  increased,  during  such 
term."  Here  "  civil  office  "  seems  to  mean  an  office  not 
military  which  Congress  has  the  power  to  create.  If 
Congress  attaches  an  increased  salary  to  a  civil  office,  no 
member  of  that  Congress  can  be  appointed  to  it  before  his 
term  of  office  has  expired.  He  can  take  a  military  office 
which  has  been  thus  created,  but  only  on  condition  of 
ceasing  to  be  a  member  of  Congress ;  for  the  same  clause 
forbids  a  member  of  Congress  to  hold  any  office  under 
the  United  States.  Sec.  III.,  Art.  II.  says  the  Presi- 
dent "shall  commission  all  the  officers  of  the  United 
States."  The  President  does  not  commission  Congress- 
men; hence  some  have  concluded  that  a  Congressman 
is  not  an  officer  of  the  United  States  in  the  meaning 
of  the  Constitution. 

i  Art.  I.  sec.  6,  cl.  1. 


EXPLANATION   OF  SPECIAL  PASSAGES.        217 

Are  Congressmen  Liable  to  Impeachment  ?  —  Sec. 
VI.,  Art.  II.,  says,  "  The  President,  Vice-President,  and 
all  civil  officers  of  the  United  States  shall  be  removed 
from  office  on  impeachment  for  and  conviction  of  trea- 
son, bribery,  or  other  high  crime  or  misdemeanor." 
If,  therefore,  Congressmen  are  civil  officers,  they  are 
liable  to  impeachment.  As  stated  in  a  former  chapter, 
when  a  senator  was  impeached  by  the  house,  some  of 
the  senators  took  the  view  that  a  member  of  Con- 
gress was  not  subject  to  impeachment.  The  power  of 
each  house  to  discipline  its  own  members  extends  to 
their  expulsion.  The  only  additional  punishment  pos- 
sible in  case  of  impeachment  is  to  disqualify  for  holding 
any  federal  office. 

Letters  of  Marque  and  Reprisal.  —  A  letter  of 
marque  and  reprisal  is  a  document  authorizing  a  private 
individual  to  go  beyond  the  marque,  or  boundary,  of  his 
country  and  make  reprisals,  that  is,  seize  and  bring 
away  the  ships  or  other  goods  belonging  to  subjects 
of  another  nation.  A  private  ship  sailing  with  such 
authority  is  called  a  privateer.  While  Andrew  Jack- 
son was  President,  France  agreed  by  treaty  to  pay 
about  $ 5,000,000  for  the  settlement  of  dues  to  citizens  of 
the  United  States.  The  French  government  neglected 
to  fulfil  the  contract,  and  President  Jackson  proposed  to 
Congress  to  authorize  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  to 
compel  its  settlement.  If  reprisals  had  been  attempted, 
war  would  naturally  have  ensued.  The  authority  was 
not  granted  and  the  money  was  soon  after  paid.  Con- 
gress authorized  letters  of  marque  during  the  Civil  War 
but  none  were  issued.  The  Alabama  was  a  privateer 
authorized  by  the  Confederate  government. 


218  CONS  TITUTIONS. 

Bills  of  Attainder  and  Ex  post  facto  Laws.  —  Two 

phrases  are  found  together  in  the  Federal  Constitution, 
and  they  are  repeated  in  many  of  the  state  constitutions. 
An  ex  post  facto  law  is  one  which  works  to  the  disadvan- 
tage of  a  subject  on  account  of  some  act  committed  be- 
fore the  law  was  passed.  If  the  legislature  increases  the 
penalty  of  a  crime,  the  increase  cannot  be  applied  to  a 
crime  already  committed.  If  the  penalty  is  diminished, 
the  benefit  may  be  applied  to  previous  cases.  Ex  post 
facto  legislation,  as  the  courts  interpret  the  phrase,  is 
limited  to  laws  affecting  the  citizen  to  his  disadvantage. 
The  prohibition  of  this  sort  of  legislation  has  had  impor- 
tant results  over  the  action  of  legislatures  and  courts. 

No  evidence  is  given  that  the  prohibition  of  bills  of 
attainder  has  ever  influenced  the  act  of  any  officer. 
This  expression  was  put  into  our  constitutions  because 
the  English  Parliament  had  passed  bills  of  attainder. 
Such  a  bill  was  an  act  of  Parliament,  voted  upon  like 
any  other  law.  It  named  a  person,  and  declared  him 
guilty  of  treason  or  some  other  crime.  If  it  were  passed 
by  a  majority  of  the  houses,  the  person  attainted  was 
usually  executed,  his  property  was  confiscated,  and  his 
family  was  degraded  and  deprived  of  civil  rights.  In 
some  instances  such  bills  were  carried  through  Parlia- 
ment without  permitting  any  defence  of  the  accused,  or 
any  evidence  in  his  favor.  In  such  a  proceeding  Parlia- 
ment combined  legislative,  judicial,  and  executive  func- 
tions. The  separation  of  the  other  departments  of  gov- 
ernment from  the  legislature  naturally  takes  out  of  its 
hands  such  unlimited  power.  In  the  English  constitu- 
tion the  bill  of  attainder  has  fallen  out  of  use.  Attainder 
in  Art.  III.,  Sec.  III.,  means  simply  conviction. 


EXPLANATION   OF  SPECIAL   PASSAGES.        219 

Corruption  of  Blood.  —  According  to  the  common 
law  of  England,  conviction  for  treason  caused  the  degra- 
dation of  the  family  of  the  convict,  and  the  forfeiture  of 
all  property,  and  of  the  right  to  own  and  inherit  prop- 
erty. This  is  called  corruption  of  blood,  and  is  forbidden 
in  our  Constitution.1 

The  United  States  a  Nation.  —  The  few  passages  in 
the  Constitution  which  show  whether  the  term  United 
States  was  a  singular  or  a  plural  noun,  as  viewed  by  the 
makers  of  the  Constitution,  all  mark  it  as  plural.  "  Trea- 
son against  the  United  States  shall  consist  in  levying  war 
against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies."  2  "  The  judi- 
cial power  shall  extend  to  all  cases  arising  under  this  Con- 
stitution, the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  treaties  made 
under  their  authority."  3  Modern  usage  would  substitute 
the  singular  for  the  plural  pronouns.  We  are  accustomed 
to  assert  that  the  United  States  is  a  nation.  In  form 
the  term  remains  plural ;  in  grammatical  use  it  is  now 
treated  as  singular.  The  prevalence  of  the  new  usage  is 
vastly  more  than  a  mere  change  of  grammar.  From  the 
beginning  there  were  two  radically  different  views  of 
the  nature  of  the  Union.  One  class  of  statesmen  gave 
chief  emphasis  to  states.  According  to  their  view,  the 
Union  was  composed  of  sovereign  states.  The  federal 
government  was  a  mere  agency  of  the  states.  The  con- 
tinuance of  the  Union  depended  upon  the  will  of  the 
several  states.  The  plural  expression  meant,  to  these 
statesmen,  plural  sovereignties.  The  statesmen  of  the 
opposite  school  emphasized  the  idea  of  Union.  Accord- 
ing to  their  view,  the  Union  rested  not  upon  states,  as 
such,  but  upon  the  people  of  all  the  states.  The  federal 
i  Art.  III.  sec.  3,  cl.  2.  2  Art.  III.  sec.  3,  cl.  1.  8  Art.  III.  sec.  2,  cl.  1. 


220  CONSTITUTIONS. 

government  was  not  an  agency  of  states,  but  was  a 
government  of  supreme  authority  over  all  matters  com- 
mitted to  it.  All  the  people  and  all  the  states  alike  were 
subject  to  the  perpetual  authority  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment. Federal  officers  alone  had  a  right  to  determine 
what  were  the  limits  of  federal  authority.  To  these 
statesmen  the  plural  term  meant  a  single  thing,  namely, 
the  Union,  or  the  federal  government. 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

THE    SILENCES    OF   THE   FEDEEAL   CONSTITUTION. 

IT  is  important  that  the  text  of  the  Constitution  should 
be  well  understood.  A  knowledge  of  the  text  is  vastly 
more  important  than  a  knowledge  of  what  has  been  said 
about  it.  The  court  of  final  appeal  bases  its  decisions 
upon  what  the  Constitution  says,  rather  than  upon  the 
opinions  of  those  who  have  explained  the  Constitution. 
The  only  form  of  commentary  which  approaches  in 
importance  the  text  of  the  Constitution,  is  found  in  a 
statement  of  the  things  which  have  been  done  in  its 
name  and  under  its  authority. 

Yet  one  may  have  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  text 
of  the  Constitution,  and  may  understand  perfectly  every 
word,  phrase,  and  sentence,  and  the  historical  incidents 
which  led  to  their  use,  and  still  have  little  knowledge  of 
the  government.  The  wisdom  of  those  who  framed  the 
Constitution  is  seen  as  much  in  the  things  which  they 
left  out  as  in  what  they  put  in.  The  relation  of  states 
to  the  federal  government  is  the  point  which  has  been 


SILENCES  OF  THE  FEDEEAL   CONSTITUTION.        221 

the  source  of  a  large  proportion  of  our  difficulties.  This 
relation  was  made  very  clear  in  a  few  essential  features, 
and  left  remarkably  indefinite  in  a  multitude  of  details. 
The  Articles  of  Confederation  said  that  every  power  not 
expressly  delegated  to  the  United  States  was  retained 
by  the  states.  In  the  Constitution,  as  first  framed,  noth- 
ing is  said  on  the  subject  of  retaining  power  by  states. 
In  the  tenth  amendment,  where  a  similar  idea  is  stated, 
the  word  expressly  is  omitted.  No  words  in  the  docu- 
ment indicate  in  express  terms  whether  the  grant  of 
powers  is  to  be  interpreted  strictly  or  liberally.  Prob- 
lems, the  clear  solution  of  which  is  beyond  the  wit  of 
man  to  determine  in  advance,  are  left  to  be  settled  by 
experience,  as  the  occasions  arise. 

The  Articles  of  Confederation  required  ratification  by 
all  the  states  before  they  should  go  into  effect.  The 
Constitution  was  to  go  into  effect  when  nine  states 
should  ratify.  Nothing  is  said  as  to  what  would  be  done 
with  the  four  states  which  might  not  ratify.  Happily  this 
question  can  never  be  answered.  The  believer  in  high 
national  power  may  think,  if  he  choose,  that  had  four 
of  the  most  powerful  states  refused  to  enter  the  Union, 
the  Union  would  have  made  war  upon  them  and  com- 
pelled them  to  enter  it.  On  the  other  hand,  the  believer 
in  the  sovereignty  of  the  states  may  think  that  if  the 
feeblest  of  the  thirteen  states  had  refused  to  ratify,  the 
Union  would  forever  have  respected  its  sovereign  rights. 
Between  these  extreme  views  there  is  room  for  many 
grades  of  opinion.  Those  who  appreciate  the  difficulty 
to  be  overcome  will  approve  of  the  silence  of  the  Con 
stitution  on  this  point. 

After  a  state  has  entered  the  Union,  there  is  nothing 


222  CONSTITUTIONS. 

in  the  Constitution  which  expressly  states  whether  it 
has  a  right  to  withdraw.  And  even  now,  after  a  civil 
war  in  which  that  question  was  involved,  the  Constitu- 
tion is  still  silent.  The  eleven  seceding  states  were 
required,  as  a  condition  of  being  readmitted,  to  put  into 
their  constitutions  an  explicit  denial  of  the  right  of 
secession,  but  nothing  of  the  sort  has  been  placed  in  the 
Federal  Constitution.  The  Union  will  not  be  divided 
simply  because  men  differ  about  the  constitutional  right 
of  a  state  to  secede.  If  other  causes  should  threaten  the 
integrity  of  the  Union,  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether 
a  clause  denying  the  right  of  division  would  give  it 
strength. 


CHAPTER   XL. 

FEDERAL  AND   STATE  POWERS. 

THE  parts  of  the  Constitution  which  require  special 
attention  are  those  which  have  been  used  to  determine 
the  relation  of  the  states  to  the  federal  government,  and 
the  relation  of  the  states  to  each  other.  These  are 
the  clauses  conferring  powers  upon  Congress,  denying 
powers  to  Congress,  denying  powers  to  states,  and  a  few 
clauses  in  the  fourth  and  sixth  articles,  which  relate  to 
states  and  to  the  supremacy  of  the  federal  government. 

Powers  Expressly  Conferred.  —  Art.  L,  Sec.  VIII., 
enumerates  the  powers  of  Congress.  The  conferring 
of  a  power  upon  Congress  does  not  necessarily  take 
it  from  the  state.  General  power  of  taxation  is  conferred 
by  the  first  clause.  The  states  likewise  have  the  powers 
of  taxation,  except  as  limited  by  a  prohibition  in  Sec.  X. 


FEDERAL  AND  STATE  POWEES.  223 

In  clause  2,  Congress  is  granted  power  to  borrow  money ; 
the  states,  so  far  as  the  Federal  Constitution  is  con- 
cerned, have  also  full  power  to  borrow  money. 

To  Regulate  Commerce.  —  Clause  3,  conferring 
power  upon  Congress  to  regulate  commerce  with  foreign 
nations,  and  among  the  states,  and  with  the  Indian 
tribes,  has  been  held  to  designate  powers  exclusively 
federal.  The  state  regulates  trade  within  its  own  bor- 
ders. It  may  do  nothing  to  limit,  restrict,  or  regulate 
trade  with  a  foreign  nation.  The  federal  government 
may  regulate  foreign  commerce  by  acts  of  Congress, 
and  also  by  treaties  which  are  made  by  the  President 
and  the  Senate.  A  large  part  of  federal  legislation  has 
reference  to  foreign  commerce  and  the  agencies  of  com- 
merce. Extreme  use  of  this  power  was  made  in  Jeffer- 
son's administration,  when  Congress  for  several  months 
maintained  an  Embargo  Act,  which  cut  off  all  trade 
with  foreign  nations  through  the  agency  of  American 
ships,  and  then  for  a  time  a  Non-Intercourse  Act,  which 
cut  off  all  trade  with  France  and  England.  The  citizens 
whose  business  was  thus  injured  claimed  that  these  acts 
were  unconstitutional,  on  the  ground  that  the  power  to 
regulate  did  not  extend  to  the  power  to  destroy. 

The  Constitution  itself  secures  freedom  of  commerce 
between  the  states.  Congress  is  denied  the  power  to 
collect  a  tax  on  goods  exported  from  a  state.  Congress 
is  also  forbidden  to  charge  greater  duties  in  one  state 
than  in  another,  and  vessels  are  allowed  to  sail  directly 
to  and  from  all  the  ports  of  the  Union.  The  states 
are  likewise  forbidden  to  collect  duties  on  imports  or 
exports,  "  except  what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for 
executing  inspection  laws."  These  passages  show  the 


224  CONSTITUTIONS. 

intention  to  secure  freedom  of  commerce  between  the 
states.  Yet  many  difficult  constitutional  questions  have 
arisen  in  the  application  of  these  provisions. 

The  states  have  a  right  to  inspect  goods  brought 
within  their  limits,  in  order  to  protect  their  citizens  from 
fraud  or  injury.  Some  of  the  states  maintain  a  commis- 
sion to  inspect  illuminating  oils.  Oils  of  a  specially 
dangerous  character  are  prohibited  from  the  market. 
The  expense  of  such  a  commission  may  be  met  by  col- 
lecting a  fee  from  the  importers  of  the  oil.  The  states 
have  laws  punishing  those  who  bring  in  diseased  animals. 
Instances  have  occurred  where  a  state  has  forbidden 
the  introduction  of  all  cattle  from  the  locality  of  a  con- 
tagious disease,  or  certain  breeds  specially  liable  to 
spread  disease.  These  provisions  interfere  with  com- 
merce between  the  states ;  but  they  are  sustained  by  the 
courts,  if  the  manifest  intention  is  to  protect  the  citizens 
from  injury.  It  is  an  exercise  of  police  power  belong- 
ing to  the  state. 

The  state  of  Minnesota  passed  a  law  requiring  all 
fresh  meat  offered  in  the  market  to  be  inspected  on  foot, 
within  the  state,  within  twenty-four  hours  of  the  time 
of  slaughter.  The  courts  ruled  this  law  unconstitu- 
tional, because  it  was  believed  to  be  intended  not  to 
protect  the  citizens  from  diseased  meat,  but  to  favor  a 
local  industry.  States  are  accustomed  to  collect  license 
fees  and  taxes  on  trades  and  occupations.  The  courts 
sustain  these  acts  unless  a  discrimination  is  made  against 
citizens  of  other  states.  A  law  of  Missouri,  requiring 
dealers  in  wool  not  produced  in  the  state  to  pay  a  license 
fee,  was  ruled  unconstitutional,  because  it  was  virtually 
a  duty  upon  imported  wool.  Had  the  law  applied  to 


FEDERAL   AND   STATE  POWERS.  225 

all  who  sold  wool,  it  would  have  been  sustained.  For 
similar  reasons,  a  law  of  Michigan  was  held  to  be  void 
which  required  travelling  agents  of  such  breweries  only 
as  were  outside  of  the  state  to  pay  a  license  fee.  The 
state  of  Maryland  passed  a  law,  imposing  license  fees  on 
all  importers  of  foreign  goods,  and  all  who  sold  such 
goods  in  original  packages.  The  courts  held  the  law  to 
be  void,  because  it  had  the  effect  of  a  duty  on  imports. 

The  Liquor  Traffic.  —  Many  difficult  questions  have 
arisen  in  states  prohibiting  the  liquor  traffic.  The  courts 
sustain  the  states  in  the  exercise  of  the  right  to  prohibit 
the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicating  beverages ;  but 
in  all  cases  the  sale  of  liquors  is  permitted  for  other  pur- 
poses. Questions  then  arise  as  to  the  liability  of  express 
companies,  railroad  companies,  and  dealers  in  original 
packages.  1.  A  state  law  forbidding  railways  and  other 
common  carriers  to  carry  in  liquors  is  held  to  be  un- 
constitutional. These  are  permitted,  or  even  required 
to  convey  the  goods  to  the  importer,  although  the  state 
law  may  forbid  it.  2.  According  to  a  recent  decision  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  an  importer 
of  liquore  from  another  state  is  permitted  to  sell  them 
in  the  original  packages  in  which  they  are  imported, 
even  though  the  state  law  may  forbid  such  sale-  This 
decision  seemed  to  have  the  effect  to  destroy,  in  large 
part,  the  power  of  the  state  to  control  the  liquor 
traffic.  Congress  then  passed  a  law  whose  object  was 
to  secure  to  the  states  full  control  over  the  sale  of 
imported  liquors. 

Indian  Trade.  —  When  Indians  break  up  their  tribal 
relation,  they  cease  to  be  under  special  federal  control, 
and  become  subject  to  the  local  state  or  territorial  gov- 


226  CONSTITUTIONS. 

ernment.  The  federal  government  has  exercised  pecu- 
liar control  over  Indians  living  in  tribes,  and  during 
their  transition  to  ordinary  citizenship.  The  power  to 
regulate  commerce  with  Indian  tribes  is  given  to  Con- 
gress. Yet  states  in  which  tribes  have  been  located 
have  passed  laws  forbidding  the  sale  of  intoxicating 
liquors  to  Indians.  Probably  any  state  law  on  Indian 
trade  not  in  conflict  with  federal  regulations  would  be 
sustained  by  the  courts. 

Naturalization  of  Aliens.  —  The  fourth  clause  of  Sec. 
VIII.  gives  to  Congress  power  to  make  uniform  laws 
on  the  subjects  of  naturalization  and  bankruptcies. 
An  alien  is  a  subject  of  a  foreign  country.  In  some 
states  aliens  are  not  permitted  to  own  real  estate  with- 
out an  act  of  the  legislature ;  but  in  a  majority  of  the 
states  they  enjoy  all  the  rights  of  property  which  belong 
to  the  citizen.  A  few  of  the  states  permit  the  alien  to 
vote  before  he  has  been  naturalized.  In  no  state  can 
he  hold  office.  A  state  has  no  right  to  naturalize  a 
foreigner,  yet  it  can  confer  upon  him  nearly  all  the 
rights  which  naturalization  would  give.  A  naturalized 
foreigner  enjoys  all  the  rights  of  a  native-born  citizen, 
except  the  right  to  be  President  of  the  United  States. 

A  term  of  residence  is  required  before  naturalization, 
being  fixed  at  two  years  by  the  first  law,  passed  in  1790, 
at  five  years  in  1795,  and  at  fourteen  years  in  1798.  In 
1802  the  period  of  five  years  was  restored,  and  has  re- 
mained to  the  present  day.  A  notice  of  intention  to 
become  a  citizen  must  be  filed  in  a  court  of  record 
two  years  previous  to  naturalization.  Children  who  are 
minors  at  the  time  their  parents  are  naturalized  are 
declared  citizens  by  the  law. 


FEDERAL  AND   STATE  POWERS.  227 

The  early  laws  of  Congress  restricted  naturalization 
to  white  persons.  In  1870  the  privilege  was  extended 
to  those  of  African  descent.  Some  of  the  courts  at 
first  granted  naturalization  papers  to  Chinese,  on  the 
ground  that  they  were  white;  others  took  a  different 
view.  In  1882  Congress  expressly  denied  to  the  Chinese 
the  privilege  of  citizenship. 

Bankrupt  Laws.  —  One  of  the  chief  objects  of  a 
bankrupt  law  is  to  secure  a  just  distribution,  among  the 
creditors,  of  the  property  of  those  who  fail  in  business, 
and  are  unable  to  pay  their  debts.  National  bankrupt 
laws  have  been  in  operation  during  only  about  sixteen 
years.  The  states  have  regulated  bankruptcies  at  other 
times.  Even  while  a  law  of  Congress  was  in  force, 
some  state  laws  on  the  subject  which  were  not  in  con- 
flict with  the  federal  law  were  held  to  be  valid. S-+**~ 

Weights  and  Measures.  —  The  fifth  clause  of  Sec. 
VIII.  gives  to  Congress  power  to  coin  money  and  to 
fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures.  President 
Washington  urged  Congress  to  pass  a  law  on  the  latter 
subject,  and  John  Quincy  Adams,  while  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  in  1821,  made  an  elaborate  report  on  its 
necessity.  Congress  has  never  acted  in  accordance  with 
these  recommendations.  The  power  which  the  Consti- 
tution confers  upon  Congress  has  been  exercised  by  the 
various  states.  In  1836  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
was  directed  to  present  to  each  state  a  full  set  of  Brit- 
ish weights  and  measures,  that  they  might  be  adopted, 
and  that  uniformity  might  thus  be  secured.  The  states 
are  not  required  to  adopt  these  as  standards.  Since 
1866  statutes  have  been  passed  by  Congress  to  encourage 
the  use  of  the  metric  system.  Standard  metric  weights 


228  CONSTITUTIONS, 

and  measures  have  been  distributed  to  the  states,  and 
a  law  of  Congress  makes  it  possible  to  enforce  in  the 
courts  contracts  in  which  the  metric  system  is  used. 
But  no  law  requires  its  use.  This  is  one  of  the  best 
illustrations  in  the  Constitution  of  a  power  conferred 
upon  the  federal  government,  which  has  in  practice  been 
left  in  the  hands  of  the  states. 

Counterfeiting-.  — As  stated  in  a  former  chapter,  the 
conferring  upon  Congress  of  the  power  to  make  laws 
for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  has  not  been  con- 
strued by  the  courts  as  depriving  the  states  of  the 
power  to  punish  the  same  offence.  The  counterfeiter 
is  therefore  liable  to  punishment  by  either  of  the  two 
governments. 

Post-Offices  and  Post-Roads.  —  The  seventh  clause 
of  Sec.  VIII.  gives  to  Congress  the  power  to  establish 
post-offices  and  post-roads.  One  of  these  powers  has 
from  the  beginning  been  exclusively  exercised  by  Con- 
gress; the  supervision  of  roads  has  been  almost  exclu- 
sively in  the  hands  of  the  states.  The  states  have  no 
control  over  the  postal  service.  There  is  no  clause  in 
the  Constitution  expressly  denying  it  to  the  states, 
yet  interference  on  their  part  would  be  viewed  as  an 
encroachment  upon  a  power  exclusively  federal.  The 
mail  service  will  not  admit  of  a  divided  control.  With 
post-roads  the  case  is  different.  Congress  can  leave  to 
the  states,  and  to  individual  and  corporate  enterprise, 
the  work  of  establishing  and  maintaining  highways  and 
railroads,  and  simply  provide  for  the  using  of  them  as 
post-roads. 

Patents  and  Copyrights.  —  The  power  of  securing 
to  inventors  and  authors  the  exclusive  right  to  their 


FEDERAL  AND   STATE  POWERS.  229 

writings  and  discoveries  for  a  limited  period  is  con- 
ferred upon  Congress  by  the  eighth  clause.  This 
power  is  held  to  be  exclusively  federal.  States  may 
not  grant  either  copyrights  or  patent-rights,  and  all 
suits  growing  out  of  a  defence  of  these  rights  are  tried 
in  federal  courts. 

An  author  has  the  exclusive  right  to  publish  and  sell 
his  writings  for  the  period  of  twenty-eight  years.  On 
application  of  the  author,  or  his  widow,  or  children,  six 
months  before  the  expiration  of  the  term,  the  right  may 
be  extended  fourteen  years  longer.  A  patent-right 
secures  to  the  inventor  the  control  of  his  invention  for 
seventeen  years.  Congress  may  extend  the  time. 

Police  Power.  —  Congress  has  no  general  police 
power,  as  each  state  has  police  power  within  its  bor- 
ders. The  tenth  clause  of  Sec.  VIII.  gives  Congress 
power  to  punish  felonies  committed  on  the  high  seas, 
and  offences  against  the  law  of  nations.  This  means 
that  Congress  shall  exercise  police  power  on  board  of 
American  vessels  at  sea.  One  offence  against  the  law 
of  nations  is  piracy.  The  crew  of  a  pirate  vessel  may 
be  punished  by  any  government  which  captures  them, 
without  regard  to  nationality.  Another  offence  against 
the  law  of  nations  is  the  offering  of  violence  to  a  min- 
ister representing  a  foreign  nation.  Congress  has  pro- 
vided by  law  for  its  punishment.  Over  such  offences 
Congress  has  full  power,  in  whatever  part  of  the  country 
they  are  committed.  The  seventeenth  clause  gives  to 
Congress  all  governmental  power  over  the  District  of 
Columbia,  and  over  lands  purchased  for  forts,  and  dock- 
yards, and  other  purposes.  The  third  section  of  Art.  IV. 
gives  similar  power  over  all  territories  of  the  United 
States. 


230  CONSTITUTIONS. 

Military  Powers.  —  The  clauses  of  Sec.  VIII.  re- 
lating to  military  matters,  and  others  in  Sec.  X.,  give 
to  the  federal  government  full  power  to  maintain  an 
army  and  navy.  The  states  are  forbidden  to  keep  troops 
or  ships  of  war.  To  the  states  are  reserved  certain 
rights  and  powers  over  the  militia.  Each  state  has  a 
right  to  appoint  the  officers  of  its  own  militia,  and  the 
militia  may  be  trained  under  the  authority  of  the  state ; 
yet  the  Constitution  implies  that  the  state  shall  follow 
rules  of  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress.  The  second 
amendment  prohibits  the  federal  government  from  in- 
fringing the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms. 
A  state  government  may  deprive  its  people  of  the  right 
to  bear  arms  to  any  extent  not  in  conflict  with  federal 
laws.  Many  of  the  states  forbid  the  bearing  of  con- 
cealed weapons. 

Other  Grants  of  Powers.  —  Besides  Sec.  VIII.  of 
Art.  I.  there  are  a  few  other  passages  in  the  Constitu- 
tion which  expressly  confer  powers  upon  Congress.  It 
may  provide  by  law  for  the  election  of  its  own  members, 
Art.  I.,  Sec.  IV. ;  for  the  appointment  to  office  in  the 
civil  service,  Art.  II.,  Sec.  II.,  clause  2 ;  may  provide  for 
the  punishment  of  treason,  Art.  III.,  Sec.  III.;  and 
may  propose  amendments  to  the  Constitution,  Art.  V. 
Sec.  VIII.  closes  with  a  sweeping  clause  which  confers 
upon  Congress  power  "  to  make  all  laws  necessary  and 
proper  "  to  carry  into  effect  all  powers  which  the  Con- 
stitution vests  in  any  department  or  office  of  the  fed- 
eral government.  It  is  the  duty  of  Congress  to  provide 
the  ways  and  means  of  government. 

Implied  Powers.  —  It  will  be  observed  that  the  states 
still  possess  many  of  the  powers  which  in  the  Constitu- 


FEDERAL  AND   STATE  POWERS.  231 

tion  are  expressly  conferred  upon  Congress.  It  depends 
upon  the  action  of  the  federal  government  and  the 
interpretation  of  the  courts  whether  the  conferring  of  a 
power  deprives  a  state  of  its  exercise.  While  Congress 
has  not  chosen  to  exercise  all  the  powers  expressly  con- 
ferred, it  has  from  the  beginning  exercised  many  others. 
These  are  held  to  be  conferred  indirectly,  being  implied 
in  some  grant  of  power. 

Assumption  of  State  Debts.  —  The  Constitution 
makes  no  mention  of  any  power  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment to  assume  and  pay  the  debts  of  the  states.  But 
one  of  the  early  acts  of  the  government  was  to  provide 
for  the  payment  of  the  debts  which  the  states  had  in- 
curred in  the  Revolutionary  War.  This  was  done  under 
the  plea  that  these  debts  were  incurred  in  the  common 
defence,  and  Congress  has  power  to  provide  for  the 
common  defence. 

Banks.  —  The  word  bank  is  not  in  the  Constitution. 
Yet  a  United  States  bank  was  chartered  by  Congress  in 
1791,  another  in  1816,  and  in  1863  there  was  established 
a  system  of  national  banks.  The  power  to  do  this 
is  held  by  the  courts  to  be  implied  in  the  power  to 
collect  taxes,  to  borrow  money,  and  to  regulate  com- 
merce. The  first  banks  were  made  agents  for  collect- 
ing and  keeping  the  revenues  of  the  government.  In 
1863,  national  banks  were  made  a  means  of  borrowing 
money  to  carry  on  the  war.  The  powers  of  taxing  and 
borrowing  carry  with  them  the  power  to  maintain  banks 
as  an  aid  to  their  exercise.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
acts  of  Congress  belong  to  implied  powers,  rather  than 
to  powers  expressly  conferred.  Such  is  the  power  to 
acquire  territory,  to  maintain  a  tariff  for  the  encour- 


232  CONSTITUTIONS. 

agement  of  domestic  industries,  to  promote  internal 
improvements,  to  control  railways,  to  maintain  hospitals 
and  educational  institutions,  the  signal  service,  light- 
house and  life-saving  service,  the  bureau  of  education, 
the  bureau  of  labor  statistics,  and  a  department  for  the 
encouragement  of  agriculture. 

Assumed  Powers.  —  Some  of  the  powers  named  have 
been  decided  by  the  courts  to  be  implied  in  one  or  an- 
other of  the  powers  expressly  granted.  Of  some  which 
have  never  been  contested  it  is  not  easy  to  say  in  what 
clause  of  the  Constitution  they  are  implied.  Such  is 
the  authority  to  collect  seeds  and  distribute  them  among 
farmers,  and  in  various  ways  to  aid  improvements  in 
agriculture,  as  has  been  done  from  the  beginning.  A 
federal  power  is  not  likely  to  be  contested  unless  it 
interferes  with  some  cherished  right  or  tends  to  limit 
the  power  of  the  states.  By  avoiding  these  occasions 
of  jealousy,  the  federal  government  may  exercise  a 
number  of  powers  which  are  simply  assumed. 

Elastic  Clauses.  —  The  clauses  which  have  been  most 
relied  upon  as  the  source  of  implied  powers  are  those 
granting  the  power  to  tax,  to  borrow,  to  regulate  com- 
merce, and  to  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads.  Out 
of  the  power  to  regulate  commerce,  as  is  now  held,  may 
be  derived  unlimited  authority  over  railways  as  agents 
of  interstate  commerce.  Out  of  the  power  to  establish 
post-offices  is  derived  the  power  .to  take  full  control  of 
the  telegraphic  business.  Some  writers  on  the  Consti- 
tution have  held  that  the  Preamble  is  a  part  of  the 
fundamental  law,  and  that  from  it  Congress  has  power 
to  make  laws  to  promote  the  general  welfare.  Accord- 
ing to  this  theory,  any  power  now  exercised  by  the 


CENTRALIZATION  AND  DECENTRALIZATION.        233 

states  may  be  assumed  by  Congress,  so  soon  as  a  major- 
ity of  the  members  believe  that  the  general  welfare 
would  be  thus  promoted.  But  the  courts  have  uni- 
formly ruled  that  the  states  have  powers  not  by  the 
favor  of  Congress,  but  by  the  terms  of  the  Constitution. 


CHAPTER    XLI. 

CENTRALIZATION   AND   DECENTRALIZATION. 

The  Federal  Principle.  —  Perfection  in  our  form  of 
government  will  have  been  reached,  when  Congress  shall 
have  discovered  and  wisely  exercised  all  the  powers 
which  the  interests  of  good  government  require  shall 
be  in  the  hands  of  the  general  government,  and  when 
the  states  shall  have  become  conscious  of  the  limits  of 
their  powers,  and  shall  have  wisely  met  the  responsi- 
bilities placed  upon  them.  The  Constitution  readily 
yields  itself  to  the  search  for  the  best  distribution  of 
powers.  If  it  is  found  best  not  to  exercise  a  power  ex- 
pressly conferred,  our  courts  hold  that  such  an  unused 
power  is  still  as  fully  in  the  hands  of  the  states  as  if  not 
conferred.  If  it  is  found  best  to  exercise  a  power  not 
expressly  granted,  the  terms  of  the  grant  admit  an 
interpretation  including  the  needed  powers. 

The  plan  of  giving  to  the  general  government  con- 
trol of  matters  of  general  interest  and  making  the  states 
responsible  for  local  concerns  is  known  as  the  federal 
system  of  government.  The  federal  principle  does  not 
end  with  the  states.  The  counties,  besides  serving  as 
agencies  of  the  central  power  of  the  state,  may  have  a 


234  CONSTITUTIONS. 

measure  of  governmental  responsibility.  Cities  and  in- 
corporated  towns  exercise  much  authority,  while  many 
important  powers  may  be  intrusted  to  townships  and 
school  districts.  Just  what  powers  would  better  be  in- 
trusted to  each  governmental  area,  can  be  determined 
only  by  experience.  A  state  government  may  itself 
vote  and  collect  a  school  tax ;  it  may  appoint  a  com- 
mittee and  maintain  a  school  in  every  school  district  of 
the  state.  Yet  a  state  which  accomplishes  the  same 
ends  by  giving  to  the  district  power  to  do  these  things, 
is  much  more  secure  in  its  possession  of  public  schools. 
A  temporary  change  of  sentiment  might  change  the 
policy  of  the  state  government,  and  the  schools  might 
be  stopped,  and  the  entire  system  be  threatened.  But 
if  the  system  is  fixed  in  the  habits  of  the  districts,  it 
would  be  in  less  danger  of  serious  injury  from  tempo- 
rary change  of  sentiment.  Many  things  which  may  for 
a  limited  time  be  more  effectively  done  by  the  central 
government,  will  yet,  if  committed  to  the  local  govern- 
ments, in  the  end  be  better  done.  By  giving  to  the  small 
local  areas  a  large  measure  of  powers,  better  govern- 
ment may  in  the  end  be  secured,  and,  in  addition,  the 
people  be  educated  in  political  wisdom.  If  destruc- 
tion or  anarchy  come  to  the  central  governments,  the 
self-governing  parts  will  prevent  universal  anarchy. 
Or,  if  the  destructive  force  originates  in  one  of  the  parts, 
the  conservative  strength  of  the  others  will  aid  the  cen- 
tral government  in  its  high  function  of  securing  general 
order. 

An  English  paper  misapprehended  the  situation  when 
it  remarked,  in  view  of  the  admission  at  one  time  of 
four  new  states,  that  it  remained  to  be  seen  whether 


POLITICAL  PARTIES.  235 

the  federal  government  would  bear  such  a  strain.  The 
federal  government  had  for  years  borne  the  strain  of 
immediate  responsibility  for  their  government  as  terri- 
tories. When  they  became  states,  federal  responsibility 
for  local  affairs  ceased.  The  federal  government  bears 
the  strain  of  the  direct  government  of  Utah.  Special 
laws  are  passed  for  its  government,  and  administered 
by  federal  officers.  When  the  people  of  Utah  become 
capable  of  ruling  their  territory  in  such  a  manner  as  not 
to  endanger  good  government  in  other  places,  a  state 
will  be  formed,  and  the  strain  upon  the  federal  govern- 
ment will  be  removed.  In  a  strongly  centralized  gov- 
ernment every  increase  in  population  or  territory  tends 
to  make  government  more  difficult.  But  under  the 
federal  system  there  may  be  indefinite  extension  with- 
out increasing  the  difficulties. 


CHAPTER   XLII. 

POLITICAL  PARTIES. 

Parties  in  a  Monarchy.  —  A  monarchy  is  the  simplest 
form  of  government.  Where  one  man  is  the  source  of 
law,  authority,  and  order,  there  is  no  necessity  for  polit- 
ical parties.  The  monarch  and  those  selected  by  him 
decide  all  questions,  and  the  people  have  no  pains  or 
trouble  in  the  case.  People  who  take  an  interest  in  the 
government  may  organize  and  maintain  a  half-dozen 
political  parties  or  societies  for  the  purpose  of  influ- 
encing action.  If  they  are  not  to  decide  what  shall  be 
done,  there  is  no  necessity  for  majorities.  But  if  the 


236  CONSTITUTIONS. 

people  are  required  to  decide  questions,  there  is  need 
of  majorities. 

Parties  in  Local  Government.  —  If  the  voters  of  a 
school  district  have  to  locate  a  schoolhouse,  there  may 
be  a  real  difficulty  to  overcome.  There  may  be  twenty- 
five  voters,  divided  into  groups  of  five  each ;  and  each 
group  may  prefer  to  have  the  house  in  a  different  place. 
If  every  voter  should  hold  to  his  own  view,  and  refuse 
to  give  up  his  preference,  popular  selection  would  be  im- 
possible. The  friends  of  each  location  form  a  party,  and 
try  to  induce  at  least  eight  other  voters  to  unite  with 
them.  The  need  is  felt  of  coming  to  an  agreement. 
Some  must  give  up  their  preferences  that  a  majority 
may  be  obtained,  and  the  house  located  by  popular 
vote.  In  almost  any  county  there  are  three  or  four 
places  where  groups  of  voters  would  prefer  to  locate  the 
county  seat.  Popular  government  is  not  possible  unless 
multitudes  sacrifice  their  first  choices  and  unite  with 
one  or  another  of  the  groups  which  are  competing  for 
a  majority. 

Parties  in  the  State  and  the  Nation.  —  In  these 
local  governments  it  is  possible  for  the  voters  to  divide 
upon  questions  as  they  arise,  and  to  decide  them  by  vote. 
Here  parties  can  form  and  disband  with  little  trouble. 
But  it  is  not  easy  to  form  parties  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
ciding questions  in  a  great  state  or  a  great  nation.  It 
is  not  ordinarily  possible  to  call  into  existence  national 
parties  upon  a  single  issue ,  and  when  national  parties  are 
organized,  it  is  not  easy  to  disband  them.  Our  Constitu- 
tion furnishes  no  method  for  deciding  ordinary  national 
questions  by  a  direct  vote  of  the  people.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  voters  simply  exercise  a  choice  between  two 


ORIGIN   OF  PARTY  ORGANIZATION.  237 

groups  of   men   or  parties  who   promise  to  do  certain 
things. 

If  there  are  two  political  parties  almost  equal  in  nu- 
merical strength,  and  actual  political  issues  are  under 
discussion,  and  one  party  represents  one  view  and  the 
other  party  the  opposite  view,  then  it  becomes  possible 
for  the  voters  to  exert  an  influence  in  deciding  the  ques- 
tions at  issue.  They  put  into  office  the  party  which 
promises  to  do  the  things  desired.  If  the  party  fails  to 
do  the  things  promised,  the  utmost  that  can  be  done  is 
to  wait  till  the  next  election,  and  put  the  offices  into  the 
possession  of  the  opposite  political  party.  The  people 
are  reduced  by  the  necessities  of  their  position  to  a 
choice  between  two  political  parties. 


CHAPTER   XLIII. 

ORIGIN   OF   PARTY   ORGANIZATION. 

Party  Organization.  —  It  has  been  shown  in  former 
chapters  that  our  federal  system  came  into  existence  by 
successive  general  governments  being  organized  over  a 
group  of  older  local  governments,  towns  uniting  into 
a  state,  states  into  a  nation.  Political  parties,  or  the 
organized  agencies  by  means  of  which  the  people  are 
brought  into  contact  with  the  government,  came  into 
being  in  reverse  order.  First,  there  was  the  national 
party  organization,  then  that  of  the  state,  and  finally 
party  organization  was  extended  to  the  county,  city, 
ward,  and  township. 


238  CONSTITUTIONS. 

The  Congressional  Caucus. — Washington  was  chosen 
President  each  time  by  common  consent,  without  nomi- 
nation. In  1796  there  was  an  informal  agreement  among 
the  members  of  the  Federal  party  in  Congress,  that  John 
Adams  should  be  their  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  and 
among  the  Republicans  that  their  candidate  should  be 
Jefferson.  In  1800  a  caucus  of  Federalist  Congressmen 
nominated  Adams  and  Pinkney  for  the  two  offices  of 
President  and  Vice-President,  and  a  caucus  of  Republi- 
cans nominated  Jefferson  and  Burr.  There  were  regular 
caucus  nominations  made  by  each  party  in  1804.  In 
1808  a  Republican  nominating  caucus  was  called  by  the 
senator  who  had  been  chairman  of  the  caucus  in  1804. 
This  is  the  first  suggestion  of  permanence  in  the  organ- 
ization of  the  caucus.  Four  years  later,  the  caucus  ap- 
pointed a  "  committee  of  correspondence,"  composed  of 
one  member  from  each  state.  This  is  the  first  appearance 
of  one  of  the  most  important  features  of  modern  party 
organization. 

The  Decline  of  the  Nominating  Caucus.  —  From  the 
beginning  there  was  opposition  to  the  congressional 
caucus.  The  Federalists  made  no  caucus  nomination 
after  1808.  In  1812  seventy  delegates  from  eleven 
states  met  in  New  York,  and  nominated  De  Witt  Clinton 
as  the  Federal  candidate.  This  was  the  forerunner  of  the 
national  convention,  which  finally  displaced  the  con- 
gressional caucus.  The  caucuses  by  which  Monroe  was 
twice  put  in  nomination  were  attended  by  only  a  part  of 
the  Republican  members  of  Congress.  Crawford,  the 
last  congressional  nominee,  was  defeated  in  1824.  State 
caucuses  and  state  committees  of  correspondence  con- 
tinued to  have  a  share  in  the  business  of  nominating 


ORIGIN   OF  PARTY  ORGANIZATION.  239 

until  1840,  when  the  candidates  for  each  party  were 
nominated  by  national  conventions. 

State  Nominating  Caucuses.  —  As  congressional 
caucuses  nominated  candidates  for  the  Presidency,  so 
the  members  of  the  state  legislatures  nominated  state 
officers.  There  were  nominations  by  caucus  in  the 
New  York  legislature  earlier  than  the  first  congressional 
caucus  nomination.  The  caucuses  in  New  York  and 
Virginia  exerted  a  great  influence  over  other  states. 

Conventions.  —  Nominations  by  legislative  caucus 
were  early  condemned,  as  throwing  political  power  into 
the  hands  of  a  few  men.  The  extension  of  the  franchise, 
and  the  growing  democratic  spirit,  led  people  who  were 
not  in  the  legislature  to  demand  a  share  in  the  business 
of  choosing  candidates.  As  early  as  1817,  the  Republi- 
can caucus  in  New  York  admitted  to  its  membership 
delegates  from  counties  which  had  no  Republican  repre- 
sentatives in  the  legislature.  In  a  short  time,  delegates 
were  sent  from  all  the  counties  in  New  York.  The  ex- 
ample was  followed  in  other  states,  and  in  this  way  the 
party  convention  took  the  place  of  the  nominating 
caucus. 

National  Conventions. — It  required  many  years  to 
perfect  the  system  of  convention  nominations.  The 
Democratic  party,  which  had  now  displaced  the  Repub- 
lican party,  held  an  irregular  national  convention  as 
early  as  1832.  A  more  perfect  convention  nominated 
Van  Buren  in  1835.  The  Whigs  held  their  first  national 
convention  in  1839,  and  nominated  Harrison  and  Tyler. 
It  was  many  years  before  all  the  states  were  represented 
in  these  conventions.  As  now  organized,  each  of  the 
two  national  conventions  is  composed  of  delegates  from 


240  CONSTITUTIONS. 

state  conventions,  twice  as  many  from  each  state  as  it 
has  members  of  Congress.  The  Republican  convention 
admits  to  full  membership  two  delegates  from  each  ter- 
ritory and  one  from  the  District  of  Columbia.  The 
Democratic  convention,  since  the  first  meeting,  held  in 
1832,  has  followed  the  rule  of  voting  by  states  in  the 
selection  of  candidates.  That  is,  the  entire  vote  of  the 
state  is  cast  as  the  majority  of  the  delegation  from  the 
state  prefers.  The  majority  may  cast  the  entire  vote  of 
the  State  for  one  candidate,  or  divide  it  among  several 
without  reference  to  the  choice  of  individual  delegates. 
The  Democratic  convention  has  also  from  the  first  re- 
quired a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  delegates  to  make  a 
nomination.  In  the  Republican  convention,  a  majority 
of  the  delegates  makes  a  nomination,  and  each  member 
may  vote  regardless  of  the  wishes  of  the  majority  from 
his  state. 

Platform  and  Committee.  —  Besides  nominating  the 
candidates,  the  national  convention  adopts  a  series  of 

f  i\  resolutions,  called  the  party  platform,  setting  forth  the 
doctrines  and  principles  of  the  party.  It  also  appoints  a 

r  /jj  national  committee  consisting  of  one  member  from  each 
state,  whose  business  it  is  to  give  direction  to  the  ap- 
proaching campaign,  to  collect  and  expend  money  for 
election  expenses,  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  party 
during  the  four  years'  vacation  of  the  convention,  and 
to  call  the  next  national  convention.  The  committee  is 
not  chosen  till  the  nominations  are  made,  and  the  per- 
sonal wishes  of  the  candidates  are  consulted  in  selecting 
its  members. 

Congressional    Committee.  —  Besides   the    national 
committee    appointed    by   the    convention,   there   is    a 


ORIGIN   OF  PAETY  ORGANIZATION.  241 

campaign  committee  appointed  every  two  years  by  a 
congressional  caucus,  to  look  after  the  election  of  con- 
gressmen. This  is  a  survival  of  the  old  caucus  commit- 
tee, first  appointed  in  1812. 

Local  Party  Organization.  —  Among  the  various 
states  there  is  a  great  diversity  in  the  forms  of  party 
organization.  In  general,  the  states  having  a  highly 
developed  system  of  local  government  have  also  a 
highly  developed  party  system.  In  each  state  a  state 
convention  is  held  annually,  or  as  often  as  there  are  state 
officers  to  elect.  Once  in  four  years  the  state  conven- 
tions select  delegates  to  the  national  convention.  In 
the  national  convention  the  number  of  delegates  from 
^each  state  is  fixed  without  reference  to  its  party  strength. 
— la^a  state  convention  delegates  are  allowed  to  the  coun- 
ties or  districts  in  proportion  to  the  party  vote  at  a  re- 
cent election^?  In  other  respects  the  state  convention 
resembles  the  national  convention.  It  adopts  a  party 
platform;  it  nominates  candidates  for  state  offices;  it 
appoints  a  committee  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the 
party  until  the  next  convention.  In  many  states  a  con- 
vention is  held  in  each  county,  to  nominate  county 
officers,  select  delegates  to  the  state  convention,  and  ap- 
point a  county  committee.  The  county  convention  also 
sends  delegates  to  conventions  in  congressional  districts, 
to  nominate  candidates  for  Congress,  and  in  judicial  dis- 
tricts to  nominate  judges  and  other  district  officers. 
These  last  are  usually  purely  nominating  conventions, 
in  which  no  committees  are  chosen  and  no  delegates 
are  selected  to  a  convention  of  higher  grade. 

The  Primary.  —  The  object  of  all  this  elaborate  party 
machinery  is  to  enable  the  people  to  choose  their  rulers. 


242  CONSTITUTIONS. 

If  an  ordinary  voter  should  attempt  to  take  part  in  any 
one  of  the  conventions  described  in  the  previous  para- 
graphs, he  would  be  ruled  out  of  order.  No  one  can 
act  except  delegates.  But  there  is  a  place  where  this 
party  machinery  touches  the  ordinary  voter.  The  party 
meeting  in  which  he  is  permitted  to  act  is  called  a  pri- 
mary. In  some  places  the  county  is  made  the  area  for 
the  primary  meeting,  but  in  most  states  it  is  the  town, 
the  township,  or  the  ward. 

The  Machine  in  Action.  —  We  will  now  suppose 
that  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  is  to  be  chosen  and 
a  national  platform  is  to  be  adopted.  The  chairman  of 
the  township  committee  will  publish  a  notice  for  a 
meeting  of  the  township  primary.  At  the  appointed 
time  the  voters  of  the  party  assemble.  They  discuss 
the  merits  of  candidates,  and  adopt  statements  of  their 
views  on  political  questions  and  party  issues.  They 
select  delegates  to  the  approaching  county  convention. 
The  date  of  the  county  convention  is  fixed  by  the  chair- 
man of  the  county  committee.  The  meeting  is  com- 
posed of  delegates  from  all  the  primaries  of  the  county. 
These  compare  their  views  as  to  candidates  "and  party 
issues,  and  select  delegates  to  the  state  convention. 
The  state  convention  is  supposed  to  embody  the  senti- 
ment of  all  the  primaries  in  the  state.  Delegates  are 
chosen  to  express  these  sentiments  in  the  national  con- 
vention. The  national  convention  speaks  in  the  name 
of  all  the  voters  of  the  party  in  the  nation. 


PARTY  ABUSES.  243 

CHAPTER   XLIV. 

PAJiTY   ABUSES. 

Some  Difficulties.  —  The  above  is  a  sort  of  ideal  de- 
scription, showing  how  the  party  machine  might  work, 
rather  than  how  it  does  work.  Even  where  the  prima- 
ries are  free  and  uncorrupted,  there  are  serious  prac- 
tical difficulties  in  the  working  of  the  machine.  The 
same  primaries  and  county  and  state  conventions  which 
select  delegates  to  a  national  convention,  are  at  the  same 
time  used  to  nominate  local  and  state  officers.  In  the 
free  primary,  nominations  may  be  made  for  any  number 
of  local  offices,  each  nominee  receiving  a  majority  of  the 
votes,  while  the  individuals  voting  for  each  may  be 
different.  A  new  majority  may  be  made  upon  each 
question  to  be  settled.  But  the  one  set  of  delegates 
whom  they  send  to  the  county  convention  will  have 
power  to  decide  many  different  questions.  If  the  dele- 
gates are  chosen  with  sole  reference  to  their  views  on 
the  Presidency  and  on  national  issues,  it  would  be  a 
mere  accident  if  they  expressed  the  views  of  the  major- 
ity of  the  primary  on  each  of  the  county  officers  to  be 
nominated,  or  on  each  of  the  candidates  for  state  offices, 
and  on  the  various  questions  in  state  politics.  The  con- 
ventions, at  best,  can  express  the  views  of  the  prima- 
ries but  imperfectly. 

Defective  Primaries.  —  In  practice,  the  greatest  dif- 
ficulties have  been  found  in  the  primaries  themselves. 
More  than  nine-tenths  of  the  voters  perform  the  last  act 
in  the  working  of  the  party  machine,  that  is,  voting  for 


244  CONSTITUTIONS. 

the  party  candidates ;  yet  not  one  voter  in  ten  has  been 
induced  to  give  attention  habitually  to  the  first  act, 
which  is  tenfold  more  important  in  determining  the 
character  of  the  government.  The  primaries  every- 
where have  suffered  from  simple  neglect.  The  citizens 
have  submitted  to  the  party  machine ;  they  have  not 
accepted  it  and  tried  to  work  it  in  the  interests  of  good 
government.  If  it  were  left  to  the  best  citizens,  the 
few  in  number,  to  attend  the  primaries  and  give  direc- 
tion to  the  forces  which  determine  the  character  of  the 
government,  party  rule,  though  not  a  government  by 
the  people,  would  still  be  a  government  by  the  better 
sort  of  people.  There  are  places  where  activity  in  local 
party  work  is  recognized  as  a  mark  of  good  citizenship. 
There  are  citizens  who  do  attend  the  primaries  from  the 
most  worthy  motives.  These  are  the  very  salt  of  the 
earth  so  far  as  good  government  is  concerned,  and  if 
primaries  could  be  controlled  by  them,  the  party  ma- 
chine would  yield  good  government. 

Corrupt  Primaries.  —  There  are  places  where  the 
control  of  the  primaries  has  fallen  into  unworthy  hands. 
This  is  especially  true  in  many  great  cities.  The  voters 
in  a  city  primary  are  strangers  to  each  other.  To  pre- 
vent fraudulent  voting,  it  has  seemed  desirable  that  lists 
of  party  members  should  be  made,  and  that  the  officers 
of  the  primary  should  give  much  time  and  attention  to 
party  work.  Respectable  and  honorable  citizens  have 
neglected  or  refused  to  do  this  work.  The  business  has 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  corrupt  men.  These  hold  the 
meetings  in  places  where  respectable  people  dislike  to 
go.  They  admit  to  the  lists  of  voters  in  the  primary 
only  those  who  submit  to  their  leadership.  The  great 


PARTY  ABUSES.  245 

body  of  the  party  voters  is  deprived  of  the  privilege 
of  voting,  and  their  places  are  filled  in  the  lists  by 
the  names  of  unnaturalized  foreigners,  or  by  fictitious 
names.  It  has  thus  come  to  pass  that  at  the  primary 
election,  which  virtually  determines  who  shall  be  city 
officers,  who  shall  make  laws  in  the  state  legislature 
and  in  Congress,  and  which  indirectly  decides  who  shall 
be  judges,  governor  of  the  state,  and  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  great  body  of  the  citizens  are  dis- 
franchised, and  the  voting  power  is  wielded  by  a  few 
corrupt  men. 

Sources  of  Corruption.  —  The  few  who  manage  the 
primaries  in  the  large  cities  obtain  money  in  the  follow- 
ing ways:  1.  They  collect  contributions  from  candi- 
dates as  a  condition  of  nomination.  2.  They  are 
appointed  to  offices  on  large  salaries,  nominally  for  hon- 
orable public  service,  while  they  are  really  occupied  in 
corrupt  party  service.  3.  They  levy  contributions,  or 
assessments,  upon  the  many  employees  and  officers  of 
the  government  whom  they  have  influence  to  remove 
from  office.  4.  They  rob  the  treasury  by  fraudulent 
contracts  with  their  tools  in  office  for  furnishing  mate- 
rial or  service  to  the  government.  5.  They  exact  con- 
tributions from  men  in  business,  under  a  threat  of  using 
the  power  of  the  government  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
injure  their  business.  There  are  no  forms  of  financial 
dishonor  practised  by  the  worst  of  despots,  which  have 
not  been  employed  by  the  managers  of  the  Corrupted 
primaries,  to  support  the  men  who  monopolize  political 
power. 

The  question  has  often  been  asked,  Why  do  the  good 
citizens  who  live  in  places  ruled  by  these  corrupted 


246  CONSTITUTIONS. 

primaries  submit  to  disfranchisement  at  the  hands  of 
plunderers  of  the  public  treasury  ?  No  satisfactory 
answer  will  probably  ever  be  given  to  this  question. 
The  most  frequent  answer  is  that  the  people  are  too  busy 
to  give  attention  to  politics.  If  the  corrupted  primaries, 
which  are  at  present  only  a  few  plague  spots  on  the  body 
politic,  should  spread  to  every  part,  and  government 
by  the  people  should  thus  perish  from  this  land,  it 
would  no  more  prove  that  free  government  is  a  failure, 
than  the  early  death  of  an  inebriate  proves  the  exist- 
ence of  a  bad  climate.  Such  a  catastrophe  would  only 
indicate  that  the  sort  of  people  who  chanced  to  live 
here  did  not  think  it  worth  their  while  to  strive  habit- 
ually to  maintain  a  government  of  the  people. 

Reforms. —  The  corrupted  primaries  in  large  cities 
are  closely  connected  with  the  spoils  system  in  politics. 
In  the  city  there  are  many  public  offices,  both  city  and 
federal,  filled  by  appointment,  which  have  been  largely 
used  as  means  of  corruption.  To  diminish  these  evils, 
laws  have  been  passed  by  the  federal  government  and 
by  some  of  the  states,  making  entrance  to  the  public 
service  depend  upon  a  competitive  examination,  instead 
of  upon  party  service  as  formerly.  There  are  also  laws 
punishing  persons  in  the  public  service  for  collecting 
money  from  one  another  for  party  purposes.  Some  of 
the  states  have  passed  laws  for  the  punishment  of  frauds 
committed  at  the  primary  elections.  The  introduction 
of  the  Australian  system  of  voting  will,  it  is  hoped, 
diminish  the  evil  effects  of  corrupt  primaries.  In  some 
places  the  primary  election  is  separate  from  any  party 
meeting,  and  has  the  form  of  an  ordinary  election,  at 
which  all  the  members  of  the  party  have  a  right  to 


MINOR  PARTY  ORGANIZATIONS.  247 

vote.  A  proposed  method  of  breaking  up  the  corrupt 
primaries,  is  for  the  government  to  establish  a  primary 
or  nominating  election,  to  be  held  under  the  authority 
of  law,  either  for  a  party  by  itself,  or  for  all  citizens  to- 
gether. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

MINOR  PARTY  ORGANIZATIONS. 

Third  Parties.  —  It  has  taken  a  long  while  to  com- 
plete the  organization  of  the  two  great  national  par- 
ties. These  complex  organizations  have  now  become 
thoroughly  established,  and  they  are  the  agencies  by 
means  of  which  the  people  are  enabled  to  choose  their 
rulers.  From  the  beginning  there  have  been,  outside 
of  the  two  great  parties,  groups  of  voters  devoted  to 
special  political  interests,  who  have  nominated  can- 
didates for  office,  and  have  been  known  by  a  party 
name.  In  recent  years  there  have  been  the  Greenback 
Party,  the  Union  Labor  Party,  the  Prohibition  Party, 
the  Anti-Secret  Society  Party,  and  the  Woman  Suf- 
frage Party.  All  these  have  nominated  candidates  for 
the  Presidency,  and  some  of  them  in  certain  localities 
have  had  influence  on  elections.  These  minor  party 
organizations  are  chiefly  important  for  promoting  the 
discussion  of  special  questions.  In  this  way  they  in- 
fluence the  party  which  controls  the  government.  In 
the  case  of  some  of  these  parties,  all  that  the  promoters 
expect  is  to  induce  one  of  the  regular  parties  to  give 
effect  to  their  views.  Some  of  the  minor  parties  expect 
their  organization  ultimately  to  extend  to  every  part  of 


248  CONSTITUTIONS. 

the  nation  and  entirely  displace  one  of  the  great  parties. 
It  will  be  seen  how  difficult  is  such  a  task,  when  we 
remember  how  extensive  and  thorough  are  the  organi- 
zations of  the  present  parties,  and  how  long  it  has  taken 
to  perfect  them. 

The  Case   of   the  Whig   Party The    Republican 

party  did  displace  the  Whig  party  between  the  years 
1852  and  1856.  At  that  time  party  organization  was  by 
no  means  as  strong  as  now.  The  circumstances  were 
peculiar.  There  was  one  political  issue  which  voters  in 
every  part  of  the  land  looked  upon  as  more  important 
than  all  others  combined.  This  was  whether  slavery 
should  be  extended  into  the  territory  recently  acquired 
from  Mexico  and  into  other  unoccupied  territory.  The 
regular  parties  failed  to  join  issue  on  this  question.  The 
new  party  took  the  field  because  the  minds  of  the  vot- 
ers were  already  prepared  for  it.  To-day  it  is  possible 
to  state  twenty  distinct  political  questions,  and  each  is 
thought  by  a  certain  class  of  voters  more  important 
than  all  others.  Political  issues  grow  more  numerous, 
and  voters  are  less  united  in  opinion  as  to  their  rela- 
tive importance. 


CHAPTER  XL VI. 

PARTY  ISSUES. 

Party  Principles.  —  Throughout  our  entire  history, 
the  most  permanent  question  which'  has  distinguished 
parties  has  been  the  relation  of  the  states  to  the  federal 
government.  The  members  of  one  political  party  have 
emphasized  the  importance  of  the  states.  They  are 
inclined  to  interpret  strictly  the  grant  of  powers  to  the 


PARTY   ISSUES.  249 

federal  government,  and  thus  secure  to  the  states  a 
wider  range  of  powers.  The  other  party  has  given  a 
greater  emphasis  to  the  importance  of  the  federal  gov- 
ernment. By  its  members  the  grant  of  powers  in  the 
Constitution  has  been  interpreted  liberally,  thus  enlarg- 
ing the  field  of  federal  action  at  the  expense  of  the 
states.  As  has  been  shown  in  former  chapters,  the  pre- 
cise boundary  between  the  two  governments  is  likely  to 
be  changed  from  time  to  time,  and  it  will  be  convenient 
to  have  at  hand  two  political  parties,  the  one  to  guard  the 
interests  of  the  states,  and  the  other  to  guard  the  interests 
of  the  federal  government,  that  neither  may  suffer  per- 
manent detriment.  The  present  Democratic  party  has 
inherited  from  the  former  Republican  party  founded  by 
Jefferson,  the  traditions  which  should  impel  it  to  guard 
against  centralization  of  power.  The  present  Republi- 
can party  has  inherited  from  the  Whig,  and  that  from 
the  older  Federal  party,  of  which  Hamilton  was  the 
most  conspicuous  leader,  the  traditions  which  should 
impel  it  to  zealous  care  for  the  national  government. 

Party  Issues.  —  The  principles  of  the  two  parties,  as 
stated  above,  have  determined  their  policy  on  many  ques- 
tions. Thus  the  party  of  Hamilton  has  favored,  and  the 
party  of  Jefferson  has  opposed,  the  payment  by  the 
federal  government  of  the  state  debts  incurred  in  the 
War  of  the  Revolution ;  the  chartering  of  federal  banks 
for  the  issue  of  paper  money;  a  liberal  use  of  federal 
revenues  in  promoting  internal  improvements,  and  the 
maintenance  of  a  protective  tariff.  At  the  present 
time  (1890),  the  issues  between  the  two  parties  are  not 
clearly  drawn.  The  Republican  party  advocates  a  pro- 
tective tariff,  while  admitting  the  need  of  tariff  reduction 
and  a  revision  of  the  tariff  list.  The  Democratic  party 


250  CONSTITUTIONS. 

advocates  tariff  reform,  while  admitting  the  need  of  a 
measure  of  protection.  Each  party  professes  to  favor 
the  removal  of  the  spoils  system  from  politics.  Each 
favors  the  control  of  railways  by  the  federal  govern- 
ment. Each  party  shows  a  tendency  to  favor  greater 
restriction  upon  foreign  immigration.  Each  party  is 
divided  on  the  questions  whether  the  coining  of  silver 
dollars  should  be  continued,  and  whether  the  present 
system  of  national  banks  should  be  retained. 

Questions  in  State  Politics.  —  Many  of  the  questions 
of  chief  interest  to  the  voters  are  such  as  can  be  settled 
only  by  the  action  of  states.  Such  are  the  questions 
whether  the  public  shall  furnish  school-books  to  pupils 
in  the  public  schools  ;  whether  the  state  shall  let  out  its 
prisoners  to  contractors ;  what  measures  shall  be  adopted 
to  adjust  difficulties  between  laborers  and  their  employ- 
ers; how  trusts  and  corporations  shall  be  prevented 
from  injuring  the  public ;  what  the  government  shall 
do  to  control  or  suppress  the  liquor  traffic.  These  and 
many  like  questions,  now  demanding  the  attention  of 
voters,  are  to  be  settled  almost  wholly  by  state  action. 
Yet  the  political  parties  from  whose  nominees  the  peo- 
ple choose  the  officers  of  government  are  formed  chiefly 
on  national  issues.  There  is  no  natural  correspondence 
between  federal  party  issues  and  state  party  issues.  It 
often  happens  that  a  citizen  finds  himself  a  Republican 
in  national  politics  and  a  Democrat  in  state  politics. 
Many  voters  are  confused  by  the  fact  that  the  same 
party  machine  is  used  in  two  governments  exercising 
distinct  functions.  As  the  government  comes  to  be 
better  understood,  citizens  will  be  likely  to  form  differ- 
ent party  combinations  on  state,  and  federal  issues. 


APPENDIX  A. 

ARTICLES   OF    CONFEDERATION. 

Articles  of  Confederation  and  Perpetual  Union  between 
the  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  Bay, 
Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  Connecti- 
cut, New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina, 
and  G-eorgia. 

ARTICLE  I.  —  The  style  of  this  Confederacy  shall  be, 
"  The  United  States  of  America." 

ART.  II.  —  Each  State  retains  its  sovereignty,  free- 
dom, and  independence,  and  every  power,  jurisdiction, 
and  right,  which  is  not  by  this  Confederation  expressly 
delegated  to  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 

ART.  III.  —  The  said  States  hereby  severally  enter 
into  a  firm  league  of  friendship  with  each  other,  for 
their  common  defense,  the  security  of  their  liberties, 
and  their  mutual  and  general  welfare,  binding  them- 
selves to  assist  each  other  against  all  force  offered  to, 
or  attacks  made  upon  them,  or  any  of  them,  on  account 
of  religion,  sovereignty,  trade,  or  any  other  pretense 
whatever. 

AIIT.  IV.  —  The  better  to  secure  and  perpetuate 
mutual  friendship  and  intercourse  among  the  people  of 
the  different  States  in  this  Union,  the  free  inhabitants 
of  each  of  these  States,  paupers,  vagabonds,  and  fugi- 


252  APPENDIX  A. 

tives  from  justice  excepted,  shall  be  entitled  to  all 
privileges  and  immunities  of  free  citizens  in  the  several 
States;  and  the  people  of  each  State  shall  have  free 
ingress  and  egress  to  and  from  any  other  State,  and 
shall  enjoy  therein  all  the  privileges  of  trade  and  com- 
merce subject  to  the  same  duties,  impositions,  and 
restrictions  as  the  inhabitants  thereof  respectively; 
provided  that  such  restrictions  shall  not  extend  so  far 
as  to  prevent  the  removal  of  property  imported  into 
any  State  to  any  other  State  of  which  the  owner  is  an 
inhabitant;  provided  also,  that  no  imposition,  duties, 
or  restriction  shall  be  laid  by  any  State  on  the  property 
of  the  United  States  or  either  of  them.  If  any  person 
guilty  of,  or  charged  with,  treason,  felony,  or  other  high 
misdemeanor  in  any  State  shall  flee  from  justice  and 
be  found  in  any  of  the  United  States,  he  shall,  upon 
demand  of  the  governor  or  executive  power  of  the 
State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up  and  removed 
to  the  State  having  jurisdiction  of  his  offense.  Full 
faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  of  these  States 
to  the  records,  acts,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  the 
courts  and  magistrates  of  every  other  State. 

ART.  Y.  —  For  the  more  convenient  management 
of  the  general  interests  of  the  United  States,  delegates 
shall  be  annually  appointed  in  such  manner  as  the 
Legislature  of  each  State  shall  direct,  to  meet  in  Con- 
gress on  the  first  Monday  in  November,  in  every  year 
with  a  power  reserved  to  each  State  to  recall  its  dele- 
gates, or  any  of  them,  at  any  time  within  the  year,  and 
to  send  others  in  their  stead  for  the  remainder  of  the 
year.  No  State  shall  be  represented  in  Congress  by 
less  than  two,  nor  by  more  than  seven  members;  and 


ARTICLES   OF  CONFEDERATION  253 

no  person  shall  be  capable  of  being  a  delegate  for  more 
than  three  years  in  any  term  of  six  years;  nor  shall 
any  person,  being  a  delegate,  be  capable  of  holding  any 
office  under  the  United  States  for  which  he,  or  another 
for  his  benefit,  receives  any  salary,  fees,  or  emolument 
of  any  kind.  Each  State  shall  maintain  its  own  dele- 
gates in  any  meeting  of  the  States  and  while  they  act 
as  members  of  the  Committee  of  the  States.  In  deter- 
mining questions  in  the  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled,  each  State  shall  have  one  vote.  Freedom 
of  speech  and  debate  in  Congress  shall  not  be  impeached 
or  questioned  in  any  court  or  place  out  of  Congress ; 
and  the  members  of  Congress  shall  be  protected  in 
their  persons  from  arrests  and  imprisonment  during  the 
time  of  their  going  to  and  from,  and  attendance  on, 
Congress,  except  for  treason,  felony,  or  breach  of  the 
peace. 

ART.  VI.  —  No  State,  without  the  consent  of  the 
United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  send  any 
embassy  to,  or  receive  any  embassy  from,  or  enter  into 
any  conference,  agreement,  alliance,  or  treaty  with  any 
king,  prince,  or  state ;  nor  shall  any  person  holding  any 
office  of  profit  or  trust  under  the  United  States,  or 
any  of  them,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office, 
or  title  of  any  kind  whatever  from  any  king,  prince,  01 
foreign  state ;  nor  shall  the  United  States,  in  Congress 
assembled,  or  any  of  them,  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

No  two  or  more  States  shall  enter  into  any  treaty, 
confederation,  or  alliance  whatever  between  them, 
without  the  consent  of  the  United  States,  in  Congress 
assembled,  specifying  accurately  the  purposes  for  which 
the  same  is  to  be  entered  into,  and  how  long  it  shall 
continue. 


254  APPENDIX  A. 

No  State  shall  lay  any  imposts  or  duties  which  may 
interfere  with  any  stipulations  in  treaties  entered  into 
by  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  with  any 
king,  prince,  or  state,  in  pursuance  of  any  treaties 
already  proposed  by  Congress  to  the  courts  of  France 
and  Spain. 

No  vessels  of  war  shall  be  kept  up  in  time  of  peace 
by  any  State,  except  such  number  only  as  shall  be 
deemed  necessary  by  the  United  States,  in  Congress 
assembled,  for  the  defence  of  such  State  or  its  trade, 
nor  shall  any  body  of  forces  be  kept  up  by  any  State  in 
time  of  peace,  except  such  number  only  as,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall 
be  deemed  requisite  to  garrison  the  forts  necessary  for 
the  defense  of  such  State  ;  but  every  State  shall  always 
keep  up  a  well-regulated  and  disciplined  militia,  suffi- 
ciently armed  and  accoutred,  and  shall  provide  and 
constantly  have  ready  for  use  in  public  stores  a  due 
number  of  field-pieces  and  tents,  and  a  proper  quantity 
of  arms,  ammunition,  and  camp  equipage. 

No  State  shall  engage  in  any  war  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  unless 
such  State  be  actually  invaded  by  enemies,  or  shall  have 
received  certain  advice  of  a  resolution  being  formed  by 
some  nation  of  Indians  to  invade  such  State,  and  the 
danger  is  so  imminent  as  not  to  admit  of  a  delay  till 
the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  can  be  con- 
sulted ;  nor  shall  any  State  grant  commissions  to  any 
ships  or  vessels  of  war,  nor  letters  of  marque  or  reprisal, 
except  it  be  after  a  declaration  of  war  by  the  United 
States,  in  Congress  assembled,  and  then  only  against 
the  kingdom  or  state,  and  the  subjects  thereof,  against 


ARTICLES   OF  CONFEDERATION.  255 

which  war  has  been  so  declared,  and  under  such  regula- 
tions as  shall  be  established  by  the  United  States,  in 
Congress  assembled,  unless  such  State  be  infested  by 
pirates,  in  which  case  vessels  of  war  may  be  fitted  out 
for  that  occasion,  and  kept  so  long  as  the  danger  shall 
continue,  or  until  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, shall  determine  otherwise. 

ART.  VII.  —  When  land  forces  are  raised  by  any 
State  for  the  common  defense,  all  officers  of  or  under 
the  rank  of  Colonel  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  each  State  respectively  by  whom  such  forces 
shall  be  raised,  or  in  such  manner  as  such  State  shall 
direct,  and  all  vacancies  shall  be  filled  up  by  the  State 
which  first  made  the  appointment. 

ART.  VIII.  —  All  charges  of  war,  and  all  other 
expenses  that  shall  be  incurred  for  the  common  defense, 
or  general  welfare,  and  allowed  by  the  United  States,  in 
Congress  assembled,  shall  be  defrayed  out  of  a  common 
treasury,  which  shall  be  supplied  by  the  several  States 
in  proportion  to  the  value  of  all  land  within  each  State, 
granted  to,  or  surveyed  for,  any  person,  as  such  land 
and  the  buildings  and  improvements  thereon  shall  be 
estimated,  according  to  such  mode  as  the  United  States, 
in  Congress  assembled,  shall,  from  time  to  time,  direct 
and  appoint.  The  taxes  for  paying  that  proportion 
shall  be  laid  and  levied  by  the  authority  and  direction 
of  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States,  within  the 
time  agreed  upon  by  the  United  States,  in  Congress 
assembled. 

ART.  IX.  —  The  United  States,  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, shall  nave  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  and  power 
of  determining  on  peace  and  war,  except  in  the  cases 


256  APPENDIX  A. 

mentioned  in  the  sixth  Article;  of  sending  and  receiv 
ing  ambassadors;  entering  into  treaties  and  alliances, 
provided  that  no  treaty  of  commerce  shall  be  made, 
whereby  the  legislative  power  of  the  respective  States 
shall  be  restrained  from  imposing  such  imposts  and 
duties  on  foreigners  as  their  own  people  are  subjected 
to,  or  from  prohibiting  the  exportation  or  importation 
of  any  species  of  goods  or  commodities  whatever;  of 
establishing  rules  for  deciding,  in  all  cases,  what  cap- 
tures on  land  and  water  shall  be  legal,  and  in  what 
manner  prizes  taken  by  land  or  naval  forces  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  United  States  shall  be  divided  or  appro- 
priated; of  granting  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  in 
times  of  peace;  appointing  courts  for  the  trial  of  pira- 
cies and  felonies  committed  on  the  high  seas ;  and  estab- 
lishing courts  for  receiving  and  determining  finally 
appeals  in  all  cases  of  captures ;  provided  that  no  mem- 
ber of  Congress  shall  be  appointed  a  judge  of  any  of 
the  said  courts. 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  also 
be  the  last  resort  on  appeal  in  all  disputes  and  dif- 
ferences now  subsisting,  or  that  hereafter  may  arise 
between  two  or  more  States  concerning  boundary,  juris- 
diction, or  any  other  cause  whatever ;  which  authority 
shall  always  be  exercised  in  the  manner  following; 
Whenever  the  legislative  or  executive  authority,  or  law. 
ful  agent  of  any  State  in  controversy  with  another, 
shall  present  a  petition  to  Congress,  stating  the  matter 
in  question,  and  praying  for  a  hearing,  notice  thereof 
shall  be  given  by  order  of  Congress  to  the  legislative  or 
executive  authority  of  the  other  State  in  controversy, 
and  a  day  assigned  for  the  appearance  of  the  parties 


ARTICLES   OF  CONFEDERATION.  257 

by  their  lawful  agents,  who  shall  then  be  directed  to 
appoint,  by  joint  consent,  commissioners  or  judges  to 
constitute  a  court  for  hearing  and  determining  the  mat- 
ter in  question  ;  but  if  they  cannot  agree,  Congress  shall 
name  three  persons  out  of  each  of  the  United  States, 
and  from  the  list  of  such  persons  each  party  shall  alter- 
nately strike  out  one,  the  petitioners  beginning,  until 
the  number  shall  be  reduced  to  thirteen ;  and  from  that 
number  not  less  than  seven  nor  more  than  nine  names, 
as  Congress  shall  direct,  shall,  in  the  presence  of  Con- 
gress, be  drawn  out  by  lot;  and  the  persons  whose 
names  shall  be  so  drawn,  or  any  five  of  them,  shall  be 
commissioners  or  judges,  to  hear  and  finally  determine 
the  controversy,  so  always  as  a  major  part  of  the  judges 
who  shall  hear  the  cause  shall  agree  in  the  determina- 
tion ;  and  if  either  party  shall  neglect  to  attend  at  the 
day  appointed,  without  showing  reasons  which  Congress 
shall  judge  sufficient,  or  being  present,  shall  refuse  to 
strike,  the  Congress  shall  proceed  to  nominate  three 
persons  out  of  each  State,  and  the  secretary  of  Congress 
shall  strike  in  behalf  of  such  party  absent  or  refusing ; 
and  the  judgment  and  sentence  of  the  court,  to  be  ap- 
pointed in  the  manner  before  prescribed,  shall  be  final 
and  conclusive ;  and  if  any  of  the  parties  shall  refuse  to 
submit  to  the  authority  of  such  court,  or  to  appear  or 
defend  their  claim  or  cause,  the  court  shall  nevertheless 
proceed  to  pronounce  sentence  or  judgment,  which  shall 
in  like  manner  be  final  and  decisive ;  the  judgment  or 
sentence  and  other  proceedings  being  in  either  case 
transmitted  to  Congress,  and  lodged  among  the  acts  of 
Congress  for  the  security  of  the  parties  concerned ;  pro- 
vided, that  every  commissioner,  before  he  sits  in  judg- 


258  APPENDIX  A. 

ment,  shall  take  an  oath,  to  be  administered  by  one  of 
the  judges  of  the  supreme  or  superior  court  of  the 
State  where  the  cause  shall  be  tried,  "  well  and  truly  to 
hear  and  determine  the  matter  in  question,  according  to 
the  best  of  his  judgment,  without  favor,  affection,  or 
hope  of  reward."  Provided,  also,  that  no  State  shall 
be  deprived  of  territory  for  the  benefit  of  the  United 
States. 

All  controversies  concerning  the  private  right  of  soil 
claimed  under  different  grants  of  two  or  more  States, 
whose  jurisdictions,  as  they  may  respect  such  lands,  and 
the  States  which  passed  such  grants  are  adjusted,  the 
said  grants  or  either  of  them  being  at  the  same  time 
claimed  to  have  originated  antecedent  to  such  settle- 
ment of  jurisdiction,  shall,  on  the  petition  of  either  party 
to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  be  finally  deter- 
mined, as  near  as  may  be,  in  the  same  manner  as  is 
before  prescribed  for  deciding  disputes  respecting  terri- 
torial jurisdiction  between  different  States. 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  also 
have  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  and  power  of  regulat- 
ing the  alloy  and  value  of  coin  struck  by  their  own 
authority,  or  by  that  of  the  respective  States;  fixing 
the  standard  of  weights  and  measures  throughout  the 
United  States;  regulating  the  trade  and  managing  all 
affairs  with  the  Indians,  not  members  of  any  of  the 
States ;  provided  that  the  legislative  right  of  any  State, 
within  its  own  limits,  be  not  infringed  or  violated; 
establishing  and  regulating  post-offices  from  one  State 
to  another,  throughout  all  the  United  States,  and  exact- 
ing such  postage  on  the  papers  passing  through  the  same 
as  may  be  requisite  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  said 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION.  259 

office ;  appointing  all  officers  of  the  land  forces  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  excepting  regimental  offi- 
cers ;  appointing  all  the  officers  of  the  naval  forces,  and 
commissioning  all  officers  whatever  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States;  making  rules  for  the  government  and 
regulation  of  the  said  land  and  naval  forces,  and  direct- 
ing their  operations. 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  have 
authority  to  appoint  a  committee,  to  sit  in  the  recess  of 
Congress,  to  be  denominated  "A  Committee  of  the 
States,"  and  to  consist  of  one  delegate  from  each  State, 
and  to  appoint  such  other  committees  and  civil  officers 
as  may  be  necessary  for  managing  the  general  affairs 
of  the  United  States  under  their  direction ;  to  appoint 
one  of  their  number  to  preside  ;  provided  that  no  per- 
son be  allowed  to  serve  in  the  office  of  president  more 
than  one  year  in  any  term  of  three  years  ;  to  ascertain 
the  necessary  sums  of  money  to  be  raised  for  the  ser- 
vice of  the  United  States,  and  to  appropriate  and  apply 
the  same  for  defraying  the  public  expenses ;  to  borrow 
money  or  emit  bills  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States, 
transmitting  every  half  year  to  the  respective  States  an 
account  of  the  sums  of  money  so  borrowed  or  emitted; 
to  build  and  equip  a  navy ;  to  agree  upon  the  number 
of  land  forces,  and  to  make  requisitions  from  each  State 
for  its  quota,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  white  in- 
habitants in  such  State,  which  requisition  shall  be  bind- 
ing ;  and  thereupon  the  Legislature  of  each  State  shall 
appoint  the  regimental  officers,  raise  the  men,  and 
clothe,  arm,  and  equip  them  in  a  soldier-like  manner, 
at  the  expense  of  the  United  States ;  and  the  officers 
and  men  so  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped  shall  march 


260  APPENDIX  A. 

to  the  place  appointed,  and  within  the  time  agreed  on 
by  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled ;  but  if 
the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall,  on 
consideration  of  circumstances,  judge  proper  that  any- 
State  should  not  raise  men,  or  should  raise  a  smaller 
number  than  its  quota,  and  that  any  other  State  should 
raise  a  greater  number  of  men  than  the  quota  thereof, 
such  extra  number  shall  be  raised,  officered,  clothed, 
armed,  and  equipped  in  the  same  manner  as  the  quota 
of  such  State,  unless  the  Legislature  of  such  State  shall 
judge  that  such  extra  number  can  not  be  safely  spared 
out  of  the  same,  in  which  case  they  shall  raise,  officer, 
clothe,  arm,  and  equip  as  many  of  such  extra  number 
as  they  judge  can  be  safely  spared,  and  the  officers  and 
men  so  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped  shall  march  to 
the  place  appointed,  and  within  the  time  agreed  on  by 
the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled. 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  shall 
never  engage  in  a  war,  nor  grant  letters  of  marque  and 
reprisal  in  time  of  peace,  nor  enter  into  any  treaties  or 
alliances,  nor  coin  money,  nor  regulate  the  value  thereof, 
nor  ascertain  the  sums  and  expenses  necessary  for  the 
defense  and  welfare  of  the  United  States,  or  any  of 
them,  nor  emit  bills,  nor  borrow  money  an  the  credit 
of  the  United  States,  nor  appropriate  money,  nor 
agree  upon  the  number  of  vessels  of  war  to  be  built  or 
purchased,  or  the  number  of  land  or  sea  forces  to  be 
raised,  nor  appoint  a  commander-in-chief  of  the  army 
or  navy,  unless  nine  States  assent  to  the  same,  nor  shall 
a  question  on  any  other  point,  except  for  adjourning 
from  day  to  day,  be  determined,  unless  by  the  votes  of 
a  majority  of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled. 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION.  261 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States  shall  have  power 
to  adjourn  to  any  time  within  the  year,  and  to  any 
place  within  the  United  States,  so  that  no  period  of  ad- 
journment be  for  a  longer  duration  than  the  space  of 
six  months,  and  shall  publish  the  journal  of  their  pro- 
ceedings monthly,  except  such  parts  thereof  relating  to 
treaties,  alliances,  or  military  operations  as  in  their 
judgment  require  secrecy ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of 
the  delegates  of  each  State,  on  any  question,  shall  be 
entered  on  the  journal  when  it  is  desired  by  any  dele- 
gate ;  and  the  delegates  of  a  State,  or  any  of  them,  at 
his  or  their  request,  shall  be  furnished  with  a  transcript 
of  the  said  journal  except  such  parts  as  are  above  ex- 
cepted,  to  lay  before  the  Legislatures  of  the  several 
States. 

ART.  X.  —  The  Committee  of  the  States,  or  any 
nine  of  them,  shall  be  authorized  to  execute,  in  the 
recess  of  Congress,  such  of  the  powers  of  Congress  as 
the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  by  the  con- 
sent of  nine  States,  shall,  from  time  to  time,  think  ex- 
pedient to  vest  them  with ;  provided  that  no  power 
be  delegated  to  the  said  Committee,  for  the  exercise 
of  which,  by  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  the  voice 
of  nine  States  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
assembled  is  requisite. 

ART.  XI.  —  Canada,  acceding  to  this  Confederation, 
and  joining  iu  the  measures  of  the  United  States  shall 
be  admitted  into,  and  entitled  to  all  the  advantages  of 
this  Union ;  but  no  other  colony  shall  be  admitted  into 
the  same,  unless  such  admission  be  agreed  to  by  nine 
States. 

ART.  XII.  —  All  bills  of  credit  emitted,  moneys  bor- 


262  APPENDIX  A. 

rowed,  and  debts  contracted  by  or  under  the  authority 
of  Congress,  before  the  assembling  of  the  United  States, 
in  pursuance  of  the  present  Confederation,  shall  be 
deemed  arid  considered  as  a  charge  against  the  United 
States,  for  payment  and  satisfaction  whereof  the  said 
United  States  and  the  public  faith  are  hereby  solemnly 
pledged. 

ART.  XIII.  —  Every  State  shall  abide  by  the  deter- 
minations of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled, 
on  all  questions  which  by  this  Confederation  are  sub- 
mitted to  them.  And  the  Articles  of  this  Confederation 
shall  be  inviolably  observed  by  every  State,  and  the 
Union  shall  be  perpetual;  nor  shall  any  alteration  at 
any  time  hereafter  be  made  in  any  of  them,  unless  such 
alteration  be  agreed  to  in  a  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  and  be  afterwards  confirmed  by  the  Legislatures 
of  every  State. 

AND  WHEREA?  it  hath  pleased  the  great  Governor 
of  the  world  to  incline  the  hearts  of  the  Legislatures 
we  respectively  represent  in  Congress  to  approve  of, 
and  to  authorize  us  to  ratify,  the  said  Articles  of  Con- 
federation and  perpetual  Union,  know  ye,  that  we,  the 
undersigned  delegates,  by  virtue  of  the  power  and 
authority  to  us  given  for  that  purpose,  do,  by  these 
presents,  in  the  name  and  in  behalf  of  our  respective 
constituents,  fully  and  entirely  ratify  and  confirm  each 
and  every  of  the  said  Articles  of  Confederation  and 
perpetual  Union,  and  all  and  singular  the  matters  and 
things  therein  contained.  And  we  do  further  sol- 
emnly plight  and  engage  the  faith  of  our  respective 
constituents,  that  they  shall  abide  by  the  determinations 
of  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  on  all 


ARTICLES   OF  CONFEDERATION.  263 

questions  which  by  the  said  Confederation  are  sub- 
mitted to  them ;  and  that  the  Articles  thereof  shall  be 
inviolably  observed  by  the  States  we  respectively  repre- 
sent, and  that  the  Union  shall  be  perpetual.  In  wit- 
ness whereof,  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  in 
Congress.  Done  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania, the  ninth  day  of  July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1778,  and  in  the  third  year  of  the  Independence  of 
America. 


APPENDIX  B. 

CONSTITUTION    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES    OF 
AMERICA. 

PREAMBLE. 

WE  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form 
a  more  perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic 
tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defense,  promote1 
the  genera]  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty 
to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish 
this  Constitution  for  the  United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE  I.    LEGISLATIVE  DEPARTMENT. 
Section  I.     Congress  in  General. 

All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested 
in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist 
of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 

Section  II.     House  of  Representatives. 

1.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed 
of  members  chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of 
the  several  States ;  and  the  electors  in  each  State  shall 
have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the 
most  numerous  branch  of  the  State  Legislature. 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  265 

2.  No  person  shall  be  a  representative  who  shall  not 
have  attained  to  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been 
seven  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who 
shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State* 
in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

3.  Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  appor- 
tioned among  the  several  States  which  may  be  included 
within  this  Union,  according  to  their  respective  num- 
bers, which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole 
number  of  free  persons,  including  those  bound  to  ser- 
vice for  a  term  of  years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed, 
three-fifths  of  all  other  persons.     The  actual  enumera- 
tion shall  be  made  within  three  years  after  the  first 
meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  United   States,  and 
within  every  subsequent  term  of  ten  years,  in  such 
manner  as  they  shall  by  law  direct.     The  number  of 
representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  -thirty 
thousand,  but  each  State  shall  have  at  least  one  repre- 
sentative ;   and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made, 
the  State  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to  choose 
three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode  Island  and   Provi- 
dence Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five,  New  York  six, 
New  Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one, 
Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten,  North  Carolina  five,  South 
Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

4.  "When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from 
any  State,  the  executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue 
writs  of  election  to  fill  such  vacancies. 

5.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their 
speaker  and  other  officers,   and   shall   have   the   sole 
power  of  impeachment. 


266  APPENDIX  B. 

Section  III.     Senate. 

1.  The  Senate  of   the  United  States  shall  be  com- 
posed of  two  senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the 
Legislature   thereof   for   six  years,  and  each  senator 
shall  have  one  vote. 

2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  con- 
sequence of  the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided,  as 
equally  as  may  be,  into  three  classes.     The  seats  of  the 
senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expira- 
tion of  the  second  year,  of   the  second  class  at   the 
expiration  of  the  fourth  year,  and  of  the  third  class  at 
the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one-third  may 
be  chosen  every  second  year ;  and  if  vacancies  happen, 
by  resignation  or  otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the 
Legislature  of  any  State,  the  executive  thereof   may 
make  temporary  appointments  until  the  next  meeting 
of  the  Legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  who  shall  not  have 
attained  to  the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when 
elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  for  which  he 
shall  be  chosen. 

4.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be 
President  of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless 
they  be  equally  divided. 

5.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  officers,  and  also  a 
president  pro  tempore^  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-Pres- 
ident, or  when  he  shall  exercise  the  office  of  President 
of  the  United  States. 

6.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all 
impeachments.     When  sitting  for  that  purpose,  they 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  267 

shall  be  on  oath  or  affirmation.  When  the  President  of 
the  United  States  is  tried,  the  chief  justice  shall  pre- 
side; and  no  person  shall  be  convicted  without  the 
concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 

7.  Judgment  in  case  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend 
farther  than  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification 
to  hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit 
under  the  United  States;  but  the  party  convicted  shall, 
nevertheless,  be  liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial, 
judgment,  and  punishment  according  to  law. 

Section  IV.     Both  Houses. 

1.  The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections 
for  senators  and  representatives  shall  be  prescribed  in 
each  State  by  the  Legislature  thereof;  but  the  Congress 
may  at  any  time,  by  law,  make  or  alter  such  regulations, 
except  as  to  the  place  of  choosing  senators. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every 
year,  and  such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in 
December,  unless  they  shall  by  law  appoint  a  different 
day. 

Section  V.     The  Houses  Separately. 

1.  Each  house  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections, 
returns,  and  qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a 
majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  busi- 
ness ;   but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to 
day,  and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance 
of  absent  members,  in  such  manner  and  under  such 
penalties  as  each  house  may  provide. 

2.  Each  house  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  pro- 
ceedings, punish  its  members  for  disorderly  behavior, 


268  APPENDIX  B. 

and,   with    the    concurrence    of    two-thirds,    expel    a 
member. 

3.  Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceed- 
ings, and  from  time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting 
such  parts  as  may  in  their  judgment  require  secrecy ; 
and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of  either  house, 
on  any  question,  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one-fifth  of  those 
present,  be  entered  on  the  journal. 

4.  Neither  house  during  the  session  of  Congress  shall, 
without  the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than 
three  days,  nor  to  any  other  place  than  that  in  which 
the  two  houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Section  VI.    Privileges  and  Disabilities  of  Members. 

1.  The  senators  and  representatives  shall  receive  a 
compensation  for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law 
and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States.    They 
shall  in  all  cases,  except   treason,  felony,  and  breach 
of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their 
attendance  at  the  session  of  their  respective   houses, 
and  in  going  to  or  returning  from  the  same ;  and  for 
any  speech  or  debate  in  either  house,  they  shall  not  be 
questioned  in  any  other  place. 

2.  No   senator  or   representative   shall,   during    the 
time  for  which  he  was  elected,  be   appointed  to   any 
civil  office  under  the  authority  of  the   United  States, 
which   shall   have   been   created,    or    the   emoluments 
whereof  shall  have  been  increased,  during  such  time; 
and  no  person  holding  any  office   under   the    United 
States  shall  be  a  member  of  either  house  during  his 
continuance  in  office. 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  269 

Section  VII.     Mode  of  Passing  Laws. 

1.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the 
House  of  Representatives;   but  the   Senate   may   pro- 
pose or  concur  with  amendments,  as  on  other  bills. 

2.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of 
Representatives  and  the  Senate  shall,  before  it  become 
a  law,  be  presented  to  the  President   of   the    United 
States ;   if  he  approve,  he  shall  sign  it ;  but  if  not,  he 
shall  return  it,  with  his  objections,  to   that   house   in 
which   it   shall   have   originated,  who   shall  enter  the 
objections  at  large  on  their  journal,  and  proceed   to 
reconsider  it.     If,  after  such  reconsideration,  two-thirds 
of  that  house  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be 
sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other  house, 
by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  ap- 
proved by  two-thirds  of  that  house,  it  shall  become  a 
law.     But  in  all  such  cases  the  votes  of  both  houses 
shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names 
of  the  persons  voting  for  and  against  the  bill  shall  be 
entered  on  the  journal  of  each  house  respectively.     If 
any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  President  within 
ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have  been 
presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law  in  like  man- 
ner as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their 
adjournment  prevent  its  return,  in  which  case  it  shall 
not  be  a  law. 

3.  Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  which  the  con- 
currence of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
may  be   necessary  (except   on   a  question  of  adjourn- 
ment) shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States ;   and  before  the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall  be 


270  APPENDIX  R. 

approved  by  him,  or,  being  disapproved  by  him,  shall 
be  repassed  by  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  according  to  the  rules  and  limitations 
prescribed  in  the  case  of  a  bill. 

Section  VIII.     Powers  granted  to  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power : 

1.  To   lay   and   collect   taxes,   duties.  jmpostsf   and 
excises,  to  pay  the  debts  and  provide  for  the  common 
defense  and  general  welfare  of  the  United  States ;  but 
all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  shall  be  uniform  through- 
out the  United  States ; 

2.  To  borrow  money  on  the   credit   of  the  United 
States ; 

3.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and 
among  the  several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes ; 

4.  To  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and 
uniform  laws  on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies,  throughout 
the  United  States ; 

5.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof  and  of 
foreign   coin,   and   fix    the   standard   of    weights    and 
measures ; 

6.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting 
the  securities  and  current  coin  of  the  United  States ; 

7.  To  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads ; 

8.  To   promote   the   progress  of  science  and  useful 
arts,  by  securing  for  limited  times  to  authors  and  inven- 
tors the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writings  and 
discoveries ; 

9.  To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme 
Court ; 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  271 

10.  To  define  and  punish  felonies  committed  on  the 
high  seas,  and  offenses  against  the  law  of  nations ; 

11.  To   declare   war,   grant  letters   of   marque   and 
reprisal,  and  make  rules  concerning  captures  on  land 
and  water ; 

12.  To  raise  and  support  armies ;  but  no  appropria- 
tion of  money  to  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term 
than  two  years; 

13.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy ; 

14.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regula- 
tion of  the  land  and  naval  forces ; 

15.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  exe- 
cute the  laws  of  the  Union,  suppress  insurrections,  and 
repel  invasions ; 

16.  To  provide   for   organizing,    arming,   and   disci- 
plining the  militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  of  them 
as  may  be  employed  in  the  service  of  the  Unite.d  States, 
reserving  to  the  States  respectively  the  appointment  of 
the  officers,  and  the  authority  of  training  the  militia 
according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress ; 

17.  To    exercise    exclusive   legislation,  in   all   cases 
whatsoever,  over  such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles 
square)  as  may,  by  cession  of  particular  States  and  the 
acceptance  of   Congress,  become   the  seat  of   govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  and  to  exercise  like  author- 
ity over  all  places  purchased,  by  the  consent  of  the 
Legislature  of  the  State,  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for 
the  erection  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dock-yards, 
and  other  needful  buildings  ;  and 

18.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and 
proper  for  carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers, 
and  all  other  powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the 


272  APPENDIX  B. 

government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  department 
or  office  thereof. 

Section  IX.     Powers  denied  to  the  United  States. 

1.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as 
any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper   to 
admit  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to 
the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight ;  but  a 
tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not 
exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  person. 

2.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall 
not  be  suspended  unless  when,  in  case  of  rebellion  01 
invasion,  the  public  safety  may  require  it. 

3.  No  bill  of  attainder,  or  ex-post-facto  law,  shall  be 
passed. 

4.  No  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid, 
unless  in  proportion  to  the  census  or  enumeration  herein 

"•  before  directed  to  be  taken. 

5.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported 
from  any  State. 

6.  No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of 
commerce  or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  State  over  those 
of  another;  nor  shall  vessels  bound  to  or  from  one  State 
be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  duties  in  another. 

7.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  but  in 
consequence  of  appropriations  made  by  law ;  and  a  reg- 
ular statement  and  account  of  the  receipts  and  expen- 
ditures of  all  public  money  shall  be  published  from  time 
to  time. 

8.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United 
States;   and  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or 
trust  under  them  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Con- 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  273 

gress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office,  or  title 
of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign 
state. 

Section  X.     Powers  denied  to  the  States. 

1.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or 
confederation ;   grant  letters  of  marque  and   reprisal ; 
coin  money;  emit  bills  of  credit;  make  anything  but 
gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts;  pass 
any  bill  of  attainder,  ex-post-facto  law,  or  law  impair- 
ing the  obligation  of  contracts ;  or  grant  any  title  of 
nobility. 

2.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Con- 
gress, lay  any  imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports, 
except  what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing 
its  inspection  laws ;  and  the  net  produce  of  all  duties 
and  imposts  laid  by  any  State  on  imports  or  exports 
shall   be   for   the   use   of   the  treasury  of  the    United 
States,  and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision 
and  control  of  the  Congress. 

3.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay 
any  duty  of  tonnage,  keep  troops  or  ships  of  war  in  time 
of  peace,  enter  into  any  agreement  or  compact  with  an- 
other State  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or  engage  in  war 
unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as 
will  not  admit  of  delays. 

ARTICLE  II.    EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT. 

Section  I.     President  and  Vice-President. 

1.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  of  America.     He  shall  hold 


274  APPENDIX  B.- 

his  office  during  the  term  of  four  years,  and,  together 
with  the  Vice-President,  chosen  for  the  same  term,  be 
elected  as  follows :  — 

2.  Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the 
Legislature   thereof  may  direct,  a  number  of  electors, 
equal  to  the  whole  number  of  senators  and  representa- 
tives to  which  the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress ; 
but  no  senator  or  representative,  or  person  holding  an 
office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United  f  ates,  shall 
be  appointed  an  elector. 

3.  [The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States, 
and  vote  by  ballot  far_twp_  persons^^oi.  whom  one  at 
least  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with 
themselves.     And  they  shall  make  a  list  of  all  the  per- 
sons voted  for,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each ; 
which  list  they  shall  sign   and   certify,  and  transmit, 
sealed,  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate.     The 
President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  cer- 
tificates, and  the  votes   shall   then  be  counted.     The 
person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  shall  be  the 
President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole 
number  of  electors  appointed;  and  if  there   be  more 
than  one  who  have  such  majority,  and  have  an  equal 
number  of  votes,  then  the   House  of  Representatives 
shall  immediately  choose  by  ballot  one   of  them  for 
President ;  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then,  from 
the  five  highest  on  the  list,  the  said  House  shall  in  like 
manner  choose   the   President.     But   in    choosing   the 
President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  repre- 
sentation from  each  State  having  one  vote ;  a  quorum 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  276 

for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members 
from  two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the 
States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  In  every  case, 
after  the  choice  of  the  President,  the  person  having  the 
greatest  number  of  votes  of  the  electors  shall  be  the 
Vice-President.  But  if  there  should  remain  two  or 
more  who  have  equal  votes,  the  Senate  shall  choose 
from  them  by  ballot  the  Vice-President.]  l 

4.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing 
the  electors,  and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their 
votes,  which   day  shall  be  the  same   throughout  the 
United  States. 

5.  No  person  except  a  natural-born  citizen,  or  a  cit- 
izen of  the  United  States  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of 
this  Constitution,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent ;  neither  shall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that  office 
who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of  thirty-five 
years,  and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within  the 
United  States. 

6.  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  of- 
fice, or  of  his  death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  dis- 
charge the  powers  and  duties  of  the  said  office,  the 
same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-President ;  and  the  Con- 
gress may  by  law  provide   for   the   case   of  removal, 
death,  resignation,  or  inability,  both  of  the  President 
and  Vice-President,  declaring  what  officer  shall  then 
act  as  President ;  and  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly, 
until  the  disability  be  removed  or  a  President  shall  be 
elected. 

7.  The  President   shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for 

1  Altered  by  the  Xllth  Amendment. 


276  APPENDIX  B. 

his  services  a  compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  in- 
creased nor  diminished  during  the  period  for  which  he 
shall  have  been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive  within 
that  period  any  other  emolument  from  the  United  States, 
or  any  of  them. 

8.  Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he 
shall  take  the  following  oath  or  affirmation :  — 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faith- 
fully execute  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  will,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve,  protect,  and 
defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 


Section  II.    Powers  of  the  President. 

1.  The  President  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army  and  navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia 
of  the  several  States  when  called  into  the  actual  service 
of  the  United  States  (  he  may  require  the  opinion  in 
writing  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive 
departments  upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of 
their  respective   officeshsand  he  shall  have  power  to 
grant  reprieves  aHtK^aardons  for  offenses  against  the 
United  States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

2.  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two- 
thirds  of  the  senators  present  concur;   and  he    shall 
nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate,  shall  appoint  ambassadors,  other  public  min- 
isters and  consuls,  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  all 
other  officers  of  the  United  States,  whose  appointments 
are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for  and  which  shall 
be  established  by  law ;  but  the  Congress  may  by  law 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  277 

vest  the  appointment  of  such  inferior  officers  as  they 
think  proper  in  the  President  alone,  in  the  courts  of 
law,  or  in  the  heads  of  departments. 

3.  The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacan- 
cies that  may  happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate, 
by  granting  commissions,  which  shall  expire  at  the  end 
of  their  next  session. 

Section  III.     Duties-  of  the  President. 

He  shall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the  Congress 
information  of  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  recommend 
to  their  consideration  such  measures  as  he  shall  judge 
necessary  and  expedient ;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  occa- 
sions, convene  both  houses,  or  either  of  them ;  and  in 
case  of  disagreement  between  them,  with  respect  to  the 
time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such  time 
as  he  shall  think  proper ;  he  shall  receive  ambassadors 
and  other  public  ministers ;  he  shall  take  care  that  the 
laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  commission  all  the 
officers  of  the  United  States. 

Section  IV.     Impeachment  of  the  President. 

The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil  officers 
of  the  United  States  shall  be  removed  from  office  on 
impeachment  for  and  conviction  of  treason,  bribery, 
or  other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

AKTICLE  III.    JUDICIAL  DEPARTMENT. 
Section  I.     United  States  Courts. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be 
vested  in  one  Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts 


278  APPENDIX  B. 

as  Congress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish. 
The  judges,  both  of  the  supreme  and  inferior  courts, 
shall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior;  and  shall, 
at  stated  times,  receive  for  their  services  a  compensa- 
tion, which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  their  contin- 
uance in  office. 

Section  II.     Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  Courts. 

1.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases  in  law 
and  equity  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of 
the  United  States,  and  treaties  made  or  which  shall  be 
made,  under  their  authority ;  to  all  cases  affecting  am- 
bassadors, other  public  ministers,  and  consuls;    to  all 
cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction ;  to  contro- 
versies to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  party ;  to 
controversies  between  two  or  more  States ;  between  a 
State  and  citizens  of  another  State ;  between  citizens  of 
different  States;  between  citizens  of  the  same  State 
claiming  lands  under  grants  of  different  States ;  and  be- 
tween a  State,  or  the  citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  states, 
citizens,  or  subjects. l 

2.  In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public 
ministers,  and  consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall 
be  party,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have  original  juris- 
diction.    In  all  the  other  cases  before  mentioned,  the 
Supreme  Court  shall  have  appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as 
to  law  and  fact,  with  such  exceptions  and  under  such 
regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

3.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeach- 
ment, shall  be  by  jury ;  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in 

1  Altered  by  Xlth  Amendment. 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  279 

the  State  where  the  said  crimes  shall  have  been  com- 
mitted ;  but  when  not  committed  within  any  State,  the 
trial  shall  be  at  such  place  or  places  as  the  Congress  may 
by  law  have  directed. 

Section  IIL     Treason. 

1.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist 
only  in  levying  war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their 
enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort.    No  person  shall 
be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the  testimony  of  two 
witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in  open 
court. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  pun- 
ishment  of  treason ;   but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall 
work  corruption  of  blood,  or  forfeiture,  except  during 
the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE  IV.    THE  STATES  AND  THE  FEDERAL  GOV- 
ERNMENT. 

Section  I.     State  Records. 

Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  State  to 
the  public  acts,  records,  and  judicial  proceedings  of 
every  other  State.  And  the  Congress  may,  by  general 
laws,  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records, 
and  proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

Section  II.     Privileges  of  Citizens^  etc. 

1.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all 
privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several 
States. 

2.  A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  fel- 
ony, or  other  crime,  who  shall  flee  from  justice  and  be 


280  APPENDIX  B. 

found  in  another  State,  shall,  on  demand  of  the  execu- 
tive authority  of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be  deliv- 
ered up,  to  be  removed  to  the  State  having  jurisdiction 
of  the  crime. 

3.  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State, 
under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in 
consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  dis- 
charged from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  deliv- 
ered up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or 
labor  may  be  due. 

Section  III.     New  States  and  Territories. 

1.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into 
this  Union ;  but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  State ;  nor  any  State 
be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two   or  more  States,  or 
parts  of  States,  without  the  consent  of  the  Legislatures 
of  the  States  concerned,  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of,  and 
make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting,  the 
territory  or  other  property  belonging  to   the   United 
States ;   and  nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall   be  so 
construed  as  to  prejudice  any  claims   of  the   United 
States  or  of  any  particular  State. 

Section  IV.     Cruarantee  to  the  States. 

The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in 
this  Union  a  republican  form  of  government,  and  shall 
protect  each  of  them  against  invasion ;  and,  on  appli- 
cation of  the  Legislature,  or  of  the  executive  (when  the 
Legislature  cannot  be  convened),  against  domestic  vio- 
lence. 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  281 


AETICLE  V.    BOWER  OF  AMENDMENT. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  Houses 
shall  deem  it  necessary,  shall  propose  amendments  to 
this  Constitution,  or,  on  the  application  of  the  Legis- 
latures of  two-thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall  call  a 
convention  for  proposing  amendments,  which,  in  either 
case,  shall  be  valid  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  part 
of  this  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  Legislatures 
of  three-fourths  of  the  several  States,  or ^byjepjaxfiBJ 
in  three-fourths  thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode 
of  ratification  may  be  proposed  by  Congress ;  provided 
that  no  amendment  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the 
year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any 
manner  affect  the  first  and  fourth  clauses  in  the  ninth 
section  of  the  first  Article :  and  that  no  State,  without 
its  consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the 
Senate. 

ARTICLE  VI.    PUBLIC  DEBT,  SUPREMACY  OF  THE  CON- 
STITUTION, OATH  OF  OFFICE,  RELIGIOUS  TEST. 

1.  All   debts   contracted   and   engagements  entered 
into  before  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution  shall  be 
as  valid  against  the  United  States  under  this  Constitu- 
tion as  under  the  Confederation. 

2.  This  Constitution,  and  the  laws   of  the   United 
States  which  shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  and 
all  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  the 
authority  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme 
law  of  the  land  ;  and  the  judges  in  every  State  shall  be 
bound  thereby,  anything   in  the  Constitution  or  laws 
of  any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 


282  APPENDIX  B. 

3.  The  senators  and  representatives  before  men- 
tioned, and  the  members  of  the  several  State  Legisla- 
tures, and  all  executive  and  judicial  officers,  both  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be  bound 
by  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  this  Constitution ; 
but  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualifi- 
cation to  any  office  or  public  trust  under  the  United 
States. 

ARTICLE  VII.    RATIFICATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION. 

The  ratifications  of  the  Conventions  of  nine  States 
shall  be  sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  this  Consti- 
tution between  the  States  so  ratifying  the  same. 

Done  in  Convention,  by  the  unanimous  consent  of 
the  States  present,  the  seventeenth  day  of  September, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  eighty-seven,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States  of  America  the  twelfth. 


AMENDMENTS  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION. 
ARTICLE  I. 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establish- 
ment of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  there- 
of ;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  press ; 
or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and 
to  petition  the  government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 


THE  CONSTITUTION.  283 

ARTICLE  II. 

A  well  regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  se- 
curity of  a  free  state,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and 
bear  arms  shall  not  be  infringed. 

ARTICLE  III. 

No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in 
any  house,  without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in 
time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons, 
houses,  papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable 
searches  and  seizures  shall  not  be  violated,  and  no 
warrants  shall  issue  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported 
by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the 
place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to  be 
seized. 

ARTICLE  V. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or 
otherwise  infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or 
indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in 
the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia  when  in  ac- 
tive service  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger ;  nor  shall 
any  person  be  subject  for  the  same  offense  to  be  twice 
put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb  ;  nor  shall  be  compelled, 
in  any  criminal  case,  to  be  a  witness  against  himself ; 
nor  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due 
process  of  law ;  nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for 
public  use  without  just  compensation. 


284  APPENDIX  B. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy 
the  right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial 
jury  of  the  State  and  district  wherein  the  crime  shall 
have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have  been 
previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of 
the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation ;  to  be  con- 
fronted with  the  witnesses  against  him ;  to  have  com- 
pulsory process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor, 
and  to  have  the  assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defense. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  con- 
troversy shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial 
by  jury  shall  be  preserved;  and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury 
shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  court  of  the 
United  States  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  com- 
mon law. 

ARTICLE  VIII. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive 
fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishment  in- 
flicted. 

ARTICLE  IX. 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights 
shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others 
retained  by  the  people. 

ARTICLE  X. 

The  powers  not  granted  to  the  United  States  by  the 
Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are 
reserved  to  the  States  respectively  or  to  the  people. 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  285 

ARTICLE  XL1 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be 
construed  to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity,  com- 
menced or  prosecuted  against  one  of  the  United  States 
by  citizens  of  another  State,  or  by  citizens  or  subjects 
of  any  foreign  State. 

ARTICLE  XII.2 

1.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States, 
and  vote  by,  ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President, 
one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the 
same  State  with  themselves ;  they  shall  name  in  theii 
ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct 
ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  they 
shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as 
President,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice- 
President,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  which 
lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to 
the  seat  of  government  of  the  United  States,  directed 
to  the  President  of  the  Senate ;  the  President  of  the 
Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the 
votes  shall  then  be  counted;  the  person  having  the 
greatest  number  of  votes  for  President  shall  be  the 
President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole 
number  of  electors  appointed;  and  if  no  person  have 
such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest 

1  Proposed  by  Congress    March    5,   1794,  and    declared   in  force 
January  8,  1798. 

2  Proposed  by  Congress  December  12,  1803,  and  declared  in  force 
September  25,  1804. 


286  APPENDIX  B.. 

numbers,  not  exceeding  three,  on  the  list  of  those  voted 
for  as  President,  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
choose  immediately  by  ballot  the  President.  But  in 
choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by 
States,  the  representation  from  each  State  having  one 
vote ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  mem- 
ber or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a 
majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 
And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a 
President,  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve 
upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  fol- 
lowing, then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as  President, 
as  in  the  case  of  death  or  other  constitutional  disability 
of  the  President. 

2.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes 
as  Vice-President  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such 
number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors 
appointed,  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from 
the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list  the  Senate  shall 
choose  the  Vice-President;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose 
shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  sen- 
ators, and  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be  nec- 
essary to  a  choice. 

3.  But  no  person    constitutionally  ineligible  to  the 
office  of  President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-Pres- 
dent  of  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  XIII.1 

1.   Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except 
as  a  punishment  for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have 

1  Proposed  by  Congress   February  1,  1865,  and   declared  in  force 
December  18, 1865. 


THE   CONSTITUTION.  287 

been   duly   convicted,   shall   exist  within   the   United 
States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

2.   Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article 
by  appropriate  legislation. 

ARTICLE  XIV.1 

1.  All  persons  born   or   naturalized  in  the  United 
States,  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they 
reside.     No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which 
shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of 
the  United  States ;  nor  shall  any  State  deprive  any  per- 
son of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of 
law,  nor  deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the 
equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the 
several  States  according  to   their  respective  numbers, 
counting  the  whole  number  of  persons  in  each  State, 
excluding  Indians  not  taxed.     But  when  the  right  to 
vote  at  any  election  for  the  choice  of  electors  for  Presi- 
dent and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  represen- 
tatives in  Congress,  the  executive  and  judicial  officers 
of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  Legislature  thereof, 
is  denied  to  any  of  the  male  members  of  such  State, 
being  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  or  in  any  way  abridged,  except  for  participation 
in  rebellion  or  other  crime,  the  basis  of  representation 
therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the 
number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole 

1  Proposed  by  Congress  June  16, 1866,  and  declared  in  force  July 
28, 1868. 


288  APPENDIX  B. 

number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such 
State. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  or  representative  in 
Congress,  or  elector  of  President  and  Vice-President,  or 
hold  any  office,  civil   or  military,  under   the   United 
States,  or   under   any   State,  who,   having  previously 
taken  an  oath,  as  a  member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  offi- 
cer of  the  United  States,  or  as  a  member  of  any  State 
Legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any 
State,  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
shall  have  engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion  against 
the  same,  or  given  aid  and   comfort  to  the  enemies 
thereof.     But  Congress  may,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of 
each  House,  remove  such  disability. 

4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the    United 
States,  authorized  by  law,  including  debts  incurred  for 
payment  of  pensions  and  bounties  for  services  in  sup- 
pressing insurrection   or  rebellion,  shall  not  be  ques- 
tioned.    But  neither  the  United  States  nor  any  State 
shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred  in 
aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  United  States, 
or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or  emancipation  of  any  slave ; 
but  all  such  debts,  obligations,  and  claims  shall  be  held 
illegal  and  void. 

5.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  by  ap- 
propriate legislation  the  provisions  of  this  article. 

ARTICLE  XV.1 

1.   The   right  of  citizens   of  the   United   States  to 
vote  shall  not  be  denied   or  abridged  by  the   United 

1  Proposed  by  Congress  February  26,  1869,  and  declared  in  force 
March  30, 1870. 


THE  CONSTITUTION.  289 

States  or  any  State  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previ- 
ous condition  of  servitude. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  by  ap- 
propriate legislation  the  provisions  of  this  article. 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


[THE  NUMBERS  REFER  TO  PAGES.] 


Agriculture,  Department  of,  124. 

Alabama  Case,  The,  143. 

Aliens,  Naturalization  of,  226. 

Amendments,  to  Federal  Constitu- 
tion, first  ten,  199;  Prohibitory, 
207. 

Appeals,  118, 128. 

Arbitration,  106. 

Army  of  United  States,  163. 

Articles  of  Confederation,  38,  141. 

Attainder,  Bills  of,  218. 

Attorney  General  of  the  States, 
109;  of  the  United  States,  173. 

Australian  System.    See  Election. 

Bacon's  Rebellion,  24. 

Bail,  115. 

Bank,  of  North  America,  154;  of 
the  United  States,  154;  State,  155; 
National,  156,  231;  Postal  Sav- 
ings, 163. 

Battle,  Trial  by,  75. 

Bill  of  Rights,  The,  30,  31,  41. 

Bonds,  Why  not  taxed,  73 ;  United 
States,  156,157. 

Borough,  The,  3,  9. 

Bribery,  206. 

Burgesses,  House  of,  22. 

Cabinet,  English,  44 ;  United  States, 

132. 
Canals,  63. 


Cases  at  law,  civil,  113, 118 ;  crimi- 
nal, 113-118;  in  state  courts,  126; 
in  federal  courts,  126-129. 

Caucus,  The  Congressional,  191, 238; 
The  state,  239. 

Census,  168. 

Certificates,  Gold  and  silver,  153. 

Charters,  9,  21,  25, 27,  31,  32, 33, 102, 
103. 

Checks,  Constitutional,  194. 

Church,  Relations  of  to  local  gov- 
ernment, 3,  10,  11, 12,  50. 

Cities,  Constitution  of,  47;  Govern- 
ment of,  78-81. 

"Civil  Officers,"  meaning  of  term, 
216. 

Coins,  Gold,  151;  Silver,  151,  152; 
Minor,  152. 

Colonies,  Proprietary,  25,  28 ;  Char- 
ter, 25,  28;  Royal,  28;  Voluntary, 
26. 

Commission,  The  Interstate  Com- 
merce, 176. 

Commissioners,  United  States,  109  ; 
State  officers  as,  110. 

Committees,  Legislation  by,  185 ;  of 
the  Senate,  188. 

Common  law,  91. 

Congress,  Colonial,  37 ;  Continental, 
37;  Sessions  of,  183;  Business  of, 
185-190. 

Constable,  99. 

Constitution,    the    United    States, 


294 


INDEX. 


Origin  of,  36-40,  46 ;  changed  by 
Castom,  131;  The  English,  40-45; 
Definition  of,  193;  State,  30-36; 
Origin  of,  in  Connecticut,  45,  46 ; 
Exposition  of,  193-233. 

Consular  service,  142. 

Convention,  The  Constitutional,  33, 
38,  202;  The  Albany,  36;  The 
party,  239. 

Copyrights,  228. 

Coroner,  100. 

"Corruption  of  Blood,"  219. 

Counterfeiting  punishable  by  two 
authorities,  127,  228. 

County,  Government  of,  in  the  colo- 
nies, 13-19;  Judicial  business  in, 
90. 

County  clerk,  107. 

Court,  of  Hundred,  4,  6;  County,  5, 
6,  16;  Quarter  Sessions,  8,  14-19, 
93,  102;  Colonial,  102-104;  State, 
104-109;  Federal,  109-113;  Rela- 
tion of  to  Constitution,  196. 

Customs,  145. 

Diplomatic  service,  141. 

District,  School,  151 ;  Congressional, 

182. 

Dorr's  Rebellion,  164. 
Duelling,  205. 

Education,  50-60;  Federal  support 
of,  57,  58. 

Election,  State  and  local,  82,  83;  of 
President  and  Vice-President,  84, 
130;  Australian  system  of,  86; 
Constitutional  provisions  respect- 
ing, 87 ;  of  judges,  104. 

Electors,  Presidential,  130;  Mean- 
ing of  term,  213. 

Embargo  Act,  223. 

Engraving  and  Printing,  Bureau  of, 
158. 

Equity,  Courts  of,  105, 


Executive,  State  and  federal,  conu 
pared,  47 ;  numbers  employed  in, 
176;  restricted  by  Constitution, 
200. 

Ex  post  facto  laws,  218. 

Federal  principle,  The,  233. 

Financiering,  178. 

"  Four  Best  Men  "  in  township,  2. 

Government,  Early  English,  1-8; 
Colonial,  13-19;  Three  depart- 
ments of,  34,  38,  103. 

"  Grand  Model,"  The,  32. 

Habeas  Corpus,  111. 

Habeas  Corpus  Act,  31,  41. 

Highways,  60-63. 

House  of  Commons,  7,  20,  43,  44. 

House  of  Lords,  7,  20,  43. 

House  of  Representatives,  Officers 
of,  184. 

"Hue  and  Cry, "92. 

Hundred,  The,  4,  8,  9;  judicial  busi- 
ness in  the,  90. 

Illinois,  Constitution  of,  202. 
Impeachment,  of  President  Johnson, 

133, 189 ;  of  other  officers,  190 ;  of 

Congressmen,  217. 
Indian  trade,  225. 
Indictment,  115. 
Injunction,  119. 
Insane,  66. 
Interior  Department,  168. 

Judiciary,  English,  45;  of  Massa- 
chusetts, 103;  restricted  by  Con- 
stitution, 200. 

Jury,  8;  Origin  of,  94-99;  Empan- 
elling of,  116;  Grand,  14, 15,  97. 

Justice  of  the  peace,  4,  8,  14,  17, 
102;  Origin  of,  92. 


INDEX. 


295 


Kings,  Origin  of  in  England,  5. 
King's  Council,  6,  19,  102. 

Land,  Government  surveys  of,  169. 

Laws,  Constitutional  and  statute, 
201-211 ;  Bankrupt,  227. 

Legal  tender,  148,  149,  152,  153. 

Legislatures,  Business  of,  177;  Re- 
lation of  to  the  Constitution,  180, 
197,  200. 

Letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  217. 

Liquor  traffic,  in  state  constitu- 
tions, 208;  in  original  packages, 
225. 

Lobby,  190. 

Local  government,  8;  Three  sys- 
tems of,  18. 

Local  option,  179. 

Lotteries,  205. 

Macadamized  roads,  61. 
Magna  Charta,  30,  41,  92, 101. 
Mail  matter,  Classes  of,  161. 
Mandamus,  119, 122. 
Manor,  The,  2,  9. 
Marshal,  101. 
Memphis  Case,  The,  121. 
Ministers,  Choice  of,  in  England,  42. 
Missouri  Compromise,  The,  208. 
Money,  Origin  of,  147 ;  Coinage  of r 

147,  148;  of  the  colonies,  148;  of 

the  Revolution,  148. 
Museum,  National,  176. 

Navy,  of  the  United  States,  163. 
Ordeal,  Trial  by,  95. 

Parish,  in  England,  3;  in  America, 
9,  10,  16. 

Parliament,  English,  Origin  of,  6; 
Contest  of,  with  king,  8 ;  "  Little," 
23,  24. 

Parties,  in  Congress,  191 ;  in  a  mon- 
archy, 235;  in  English  Parliament, 


191 ;  National,  236 ;  Principles  of, 

248;  Issues  of,  249 ;  Names  of,  249. 
Patents,  228. 

Pauperism,  Efforts  to  limit,  64. 
Pennsylvania,  Constitution  of,  202. 
People,  the  source  of  authority,  195. 
Petition  of  Right,  The,  30,  41. 
Platform,  The  party,  240. 
Police  power,  229. 
Poor,  Care  of,  64,  66. 
Postal  savings  banks,  163. 
Postmasters,  Salaries  of,  161. 
Postmaster-General,    Franklin    as, 

160;    a  member  of  the  Cabinet, 

160. 
Post-Office    Department,    158-163 ; 

Origin  of,  158-160. 
Post-Offices,  number  of  in  United 

States,  161;  subject  to  Congress, 

228. 

Postal  roads,  228. 
Powers,  Federal  and  state,  222-233 ; 

of  taxation,  222 ;  over  commerce, 

223 ;  Military,  230;  Grants  of,  230 ; 

Implied,  230 ;  Assumed,  232. 
President,    of    the    United    States, 

Election  of,  84, 130 ;  his  successor, 

131. 
Presidentpro  tempore,  of  the  Senate, 

184. 
Primary,  The,  241;    Corruption  of 

the,  244;  Reform  of  the,  246. 
Privileges  of  Congressmen,  215. 
Probate  business,  113. 
Prosecuting  attorney,  108. 

Quarter  Sessions.    See  Court. 

Railroads,  63 ;  in  state  constitutions, 
203. 

Record,  Courts  of,  106. 

Reeve,  5,  99. 

Representatives,  Number  of  in  Con- 
gress, 181 ;  from  territories,  182. 


296 


INDEX 


Repudiation,  123;  in  Virginia,  124. 
Revenue,  Internal,  144 ;  bills,  187. 
Roads.    See  Highways. 
Road  taxes,  62. 

Salary,  of  postmasters,  161;  of 
Congressmen,  215. 

Schools,  Origin  of,  50;  Superintend- 
ents of,  55, 56. 

School  district,  Diagram  of,  51,  52 ; 
Government  of,  53,  54. 

Secretary  of  State,  141. 

Senate,  The,  22;  Officers  of  the, 
184. 

Senators,  Classification  of,  212. 

Sheriff,  5, 14, 100. 

Shire,  Origin  of  the,  5. 

Signal  service,  165. 

Silences  of  the  Constitution,  120-122. 

Slavery,  in  the  South,  17;  in  state 
constitutions,  207 ;  in  the  Federal 
Constitution,  212. 

Smithsonian  Institution,  The,  114. 

Speaker,  of  the  House,  184;  Com- 
mittees appointed  by,  185. 

"  Spoils  System,"  The,  134-138. 

Standard  of  value,  149. 

States,  Origin  of  the,  19-29;  new, 
35 ;  sued,  122. 

Tariff,  Protective,  76. 
Taxation,  State,  68-74;  Federal,  74- 
78. 


"  Third  Parties,"  247. 

Toll  roads,  61. 

Town,  The  New  England,  1  (note), 
10;  Officers  of  the,  12,  13;  Gov- 
ernment of  the,  78-81. 

Town-meeting,  The  ancient,  2 ;  The 
New  England,  12. 

Township,  1 ;  The  New  York  type 
of,  15 ;  The  Pennsylvania  type  of, 
16 ;  Judicial  business  in  the,  90. 

Treasury  Department,  144;  notes, 
157. 

Treaties,  139,  140;  States  forbidden 
to  make,  141. 

Tun-scipe,  2. 

United  States,  Suits  against  the, 
125 ;  The,  a  nation,  219. 

Vacancies,  how  filled,  214. 

Verdict,  117. 

Veto  power,  in  England,  41 ;  of  the 

President,  189,  194;  in  New  York, 

194. 

Warrant,  114. 

Weights  and  measures,  227. 

West  Virginia,  Constitution  of,  196. 

Whig  party,  248. 

Whiskey  Rebellion,  164. 

Yeas  and  nays,  114. 


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HUDSON'S  SCHOOL  SHAKESPEARE, 

Twenty-three  Plays.  One  Play  in  each  volume.  Square  16mo.  Vary, 
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A  Midsummer-Night's  Dream,  Henry  the  Fifth. 

The  Merchant  of  Venice.  Henry  the  Eighth. 

Much  Ado  About  Nothing.  Romeo  and  Juliet. 

As  You  Like  It.  Julius  Csesar. 

Twelfth  Night.  Hamlet. 

The  Tempest.  King  Lear. 

The  Winter's  Tale.  Macbeth. 

King  John.  Antony  and  Cleopatra 

Richard  Second.  Othello. 

Richard  Third.  Cymbeline. 

Henry  Fourth,  Part  First.  Coriolanus. 

Henry  Fourth,  Part  Second. 

That  Dr.  Hudson  had  unusual  qualifications  for  annotating  a 
School  Shakespeare  will  appear  from  the  opinions  of  Shakespearians, 
Professors  of  English  Literature,  and  Editors,  from  which  we 
quote :  — 

"  He  is  a  first-rate  teacher." 

"  His  style  is  fresh,  original,  and  pungent." 

"  His  notes  are  free  from  pedantry  and  dulness." 

"  He  has  nobility  of  purpose  and  purity  of  heart." 

"  He  keeps  his  readers  on  the  qui  vive  from  first  to  last.'* 

"  He  eliminates  gross  language  without  marring  the  plot." 

"  He  gives  results  without  annoying  students  with  processes." 

"  He  never  forgets  that  he  is  the  Editor  and  not  the  Author." 

"  His  insight  is  fully  equal  to  the  best  English  or  German  critics." 

"  He  justifies  the  saying  that  it  requires  genius  to  appreciate  and 

interpret  genius." 

"  He  has  so  caught  the  very  spirit  of  his  master  that  he  intuitively 

makes  the  best  choice  of  disputed  texts,  and  throws  clearest  light 

on  obscure  passages."  

F.  J.  Child,  Prof,  of  Eng.  Lit.,  to    which   Mr.  Hudson's    name   is 

Harvard  Coll. :  Any  such  books  from  affixed  does  not  need  a  line  from 

Mr.  Hudson's  hand  must  command  anybody  to  commend  it. 
attention.  E  p  Whipple :  That  Hudson  has 

Cyrus  Northrop,  Prof,  of  Eng.  made  a  school-book  out  of  some  of 

Lit.,  Yale  Coll. :  They  are  conven-  the  greatest  of  Shakespeare's  plays 

ient  in  form  and  edited  by  Hudson,  should  be  received  with  the  same  glad 

—  two  good  things  which  I  can  see  recognition  with  which  all  teachers 

at  a  glance.  would  welcome  the   announcement 

that  Agassiz   had   condensed  in  a 

Oliver  Wendell    Holmes:    An  school-book  the  results  of  his  studies 

edition  of  any  play  of  Shakespeare's  in  natural  history. 


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